


Truth of Campbell Hell

by imnotademon666



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: 420 friendly, Abduction, Abuse, Also Max's parents are literally the fucking worst, Angst, Anxiety, Betrayal, Blackmail, Blood, Bondage, Brainwashing, Bullying, Character Development, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Conspiracy, Dark Comedy, Death, Depression, Drama, Drugs, Dungeon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Experiments, Family, Family Issues, Fan Art, Feels, Flashbacks, Going too far, Gore, Government Conspiracy, Haunting, Heartbreaking, Horror, Hostage Situations, Human Experimentation, Illuminati, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kidnapping, Marijuana, Mystery, Needles, Nighttime, Occasional Comedy, Orphans, Pain, Paranormal, Possible Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Russia, Sad, Science Fiction, Secrets, Self Harm, Siblings, Suspense, Torture, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Violence, force, laboratory, lying, references, the us government - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-05-02 12:01:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14544300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotademon666/pseuds/imnotademon666
Summary: (BE WEARY, THE STORY MAY BE TRIGGERING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.)(Also, this story is going to have a LOT of chapters as well as art and visuals by me that will be added to chapters from time to time, so please be patient!)When returning after being kidnapped by the Woodscouts,*Nikki’s voice* Again...Max comes back a lot more fucked up than last time.From reliving flashbacks about his past with his sister and abusive parents to discovering an even more grotesque lab only to find a cultist had taken control of the experiments, every corner seems to be an emotional shitstorm that will only get worse.This shit gets real dark, real fast.Please enjoy the fucked up adventure and delayed art, you sadistic shits! :)





	1. Coffee. Black. Now.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been excited to write this, thinking about different ideas and daydreaming at work as I smile at customers and express fake happiness. I have another work I wrote on Wattpad (@littleseapig) that is gruesome as hell, if you want to know how my content can get. This story is supposed to be more emotional and freaky rather than gory, but it'll have its moments.  
> 

Max groaned in annoyance from his cot, pulling the covers over his mouth and nose while snuggling his face up against the fabric. He squinted his eyes tighter and tilted his head of messy hair down as he heard his tent begin to unzip quickly and loudly. Whoever was there made no effort to be quiet. The sunlight from the opening shined directly onto Max’s face, pissing him off right off the bat.

“Gooooood morning, Max! Or, afternoon, that is! Are you ready to start the day?” David sang.

“I’m ready to kill myself.” Max retorted dryly, clearly not wanting to put forth energy toward doing so much as taking his blanket off.

“You can’t do that, Max!” David responded, “Then you’d miss out on all the fun to be had here at Camp Campbell!”

“Yeah. That’s the point.” Max remarked.

David sighed and put his hands on his hips, tilting his head to the side, face both a little concerned and confused. He felt sympathetic for the poor depressed boy.

“Surely it can’t be that bad here, that you’d rather be de-”

“Shut up, David. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Max snapped, eyes quickly opening and glaring an irritated look at his counselor.

David thought for a moment about what Max had just said to him.

“I mean, I suppose you’re not wrong. You and I are very different, Max. That’s why it’s sometimes hard for me to understa-”

“ _Sometimes_?!” Max huffed a laugh, sitting up while pulling off his sheet and facing David. David’s stupidity almost never failed to get Max going. “You don’t get me at all! In fact, you don’t seem to understand anything about reality. I almost pity you.”

He jumped out of bed (leaving it sloppy and unmade), snatched and put on his sweatshirt, slipped on his shoes, and made his way toward David. Or rather, the exit, as he just shoved David to the side (though all he really did was stumble a bit) and made his way toward the Mess Hall.

“U-uh, oh! I see you think you know where you’re supposed to be going right now!” David shouted in Max’s direction.

Max didn’t even glance back at his botheration of a counselor.

David jogged and caught up to Max fairly quickly, then walked beside him at the same pace.

“Look, Max, I know last night was...rough, for you, needless to say…” David looked down to see if he had caught Max’s interest yet, but had clearly failed when Max responded by putting his hood up and picking up his walking pace.

“B-but!” David continued, walking quicker as well to keep up, “It’s your friend Nikki’s camp today, Adventure Camp! And nothing takes someone’s mind off of problems like friendship and adventures, huh, Max?”

Max evaded dealing with David’s unintentionally insensitive comment. He was too tired to deal with any sort of pointless bickering. Instead, he decided to just get to the point and ask what he wanted to know.

“So, what are we going to do at her camp?”

“W-well,” David was caught off guard, pleasantly surprised Max wasn’t objecting, “First, let’s go meet the other campers by the lake! We need to do this by sundown.”

“Relax, I’m getting coffee first.” Max stated, just as they arrived at the Mess Hall. Max pulled his hood off his head, shoved the doors open and went straight to the coffee pot.

“ _What_?!” Max shouted, looking all around the machine, “ _IT’S EMPTY_?!”

“Well, Max, we don’t want to give campers caffeine this late in the day. Otherwise, they’ll be up all night! Plus, you slept until 12:30pm, and hadn’t I woke you, you’d probably still be asleep, sleepyhead!” David explained, making his way over next to him and patting Max on his fluffy black head, feeling a bump on his scalp that made Max flinch when he accidentally touched it. He probabably hit his head during Extreme Sports Camp yesterday.

“Excuse me?” Max snapped, abruptly jerking his head out from under David's hand and moving away, “Are you aware of what I had to fucking deal with last night?! Have you even remotely considered that learning what I learned yesterday might make it difficult to sleep because I’m cryi--er, affected, by the news so much? Just get me a cup of black fucking coffee and give me space.” He demanded, scowling up at David. He was showing his authorities he wouldn’t hesitate when being assertive, nor will he take no for an answer.

David sympathetically frowned, eyes showing compassion and worry.

“Okay, Max. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but I’ll make an exception. Just sit at the table right here and don’t go anywhere while I go get the coffee grounds.” David’s upset look didn’t last long, as he smiled at Max as soon as he had finished that sentence.

Max narrowed his eyes more, crossing his arms and pouting, but submitting as he slumped his rear onto the table bench and rolled his eyes.

“Fine. Whatever. Now go make me coffee.” Max blurted, looking at the floor with a pissy face the whole time.

“Okie dokie, kiddo! I’ll be back! Be good! Don’t-”

“David! Jesus Christ! Just fucking go already! The kitchen is right there, there’s literally a giant opening where the food counters are, so you can see me from where you’re going!”

“Alrighty! Good point, Max! You’re so smart! See, this is why-”

“David, so help me God, if you don’t leave right now to get the coffee I will pour the scalding hot water from the pot down your-”

“Right!!! Right, I’m going!” David panicked, nervously smiling and speed-walking through the door to the kitchen.

Normally, Max would have smirked after getting David to cower like that. However, this time, he didn’t feel any satisfaction. It was as if he had forgotten how to smile. Even his sadistic grins wouldn’t form.

Max’s eyes wandered around the room. He was trying his best to zone out and not think about his current situation.

 _I wonder what we’ll be doing today for Nikki’s camp…_  
_David never ended up saying, he always gets distracted while he talks._  
_God, he’s so annoying._  
_…_  
_I’ll give him credit, though, at least he checked on me, unlike the others._  
_Not that I needed him to._  
_Everyone else is just smart enough to give me space._  
_He’s so naive._

“Agh! No, no, no-” David exclaimed suddenly, followed by what sounded like a large bag of sand pouring on the ground. Max immediately snapped out of his trance and turned his head to look through the opening to the kitchen. “Aw, goshdarnit…” David said as he stood and looked down at himself. He was covered in coffee grounds, in his hair, on his skin and face, and all over his clothes.

Max closed his eyes and pinched his fingers between his eyebrows, head down in disappointment. At this point David was just sad to look at.

“I’m so sorry, Max! Um, the bottom of the bag ripped when I went to grab it from a high shelf, and-”

“Yeah, David. I can see. Should’ve known bringing a cup of ground beans fifteen feet across the room would have been too difficult for you.” Max replied. He looked over at the door that lead outside, then back at David, then back at the door. Max was trying to contain his frustration so David wouldn’t expect what he was about to do, but the lanky counselor knew that boy too well.

“Max,” David warned in a disciplinary tone, “Don’t even think about it.”

Without even giving David a chance to take a single step forward, Max got up and bolted out the door.


	2. Blackmail Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Why is Max so sensitive? What could possibly be bothering such a tough little kid, anyways?

 Max could hear David’s voice in the distance calling after him. Fortunately for Max, David didn’t see which direction he went. The redhead hadn’t gone far from the premises of the Mess Hall since he was unsure where to start looking. Panicking, he paced around, calling Max’s name in different directions, as if Max hearing that pest would convince him not to run away.

 “Max, please!” He called desperately, sincere concern in his voice, “We can talk this out! We can go out for coffee, just you and me!”

 Max had been hiding behind a tree around fifty feet away. He sighed, looking down at the dirt beneath his feet. Though it was frustrating that Max was sure David thinks the reason behind him acting up (quicker than usual) was entirely because he couldn’t get some goddamn needed coffee, he was relieved David didn’t know the whole truth. While yes, that was a contributing factor, it was only a minor thing that pushed him over the edge after many other stressful events occured. To think David is so oblivious that he wasn’t even _trying_ not to be a misinformed idiot. He just takes a small amount of information, tries to look at the bright side, and ignores the fact that there’s more to the story. David was in such a false reality, Max almost envied it. Being that ignorant of the pain in the world must be bliss.

 As David’s calls faded away, Max knew the man had gone in the wrong direction to look for him.

  _Thank the fucking lord…_

 Now was his chance to get further from the camp. He didn’t know where he wanted to go, or what he wanted to do, but he just needed to be alone again. He hadn’t been having an easy time processing the...information, that had somehow been discovered by The Woodscouts, about his personal life.

The night before, around 11:00 pm, Edward Pikeman and his gang, Billy “Snake” and Petrol, snuck their way onto Camp Campbell to try recruiting Max again. He was an easy target, being so small and all. He’d still make a fine soldier, with his fierce ‘take no shit’ kind of attitude and witts. Max was also no stranger to violence. So, if they couldn’t physically force him to submit since his counselors would go and rescue him, then they would have to convince him to stay with them willingly.

 This time, they had a much more sinister plan.

 

**_Flashback to the previous night, right before the Woodscouts’ most recent invasion…_ **

 

“So…” An ominous voice said, coming from the large deep brown leather office chair that hadn’t even bothered to turn around and show themselves to the clients in their office. All that could be seen from the other side of the large gold rimmed and maroon desk was the top of their head. Whoever they were, they were being cautious.

 “You say you need dirt on some of Camp Campbell’s campers, do you?” The darkness questioned.

 Pikeman cleared his throat, slightly intimidated but trying not to show.

 “Yes, indeed. The dirtiest dirt you can find.”

 The voice let out a soft chuckle.

 “We can make a deal, then.” They stated.

 “But of course.” Pikeman agreed, smiling a mouth full of braces. “How may we assist you?”

 “All I ask is, when the time comes and I need the Woodscouts’ help, you will always remain on my side and follow orders. And in return…” The chair spun around to face the three Woodscouts, but the shadows still covered their identity, “You can have leverage above all of the campers at Lake Lilac.” A grin shined in the blackness. “What do you say?”

 “Where’s the catch?” Snake piped up, recognizing the sinister vibes coming from the person.

 “Well, once you make this deal, there is no backing out,” The smile on the figure faded, “To make sure you don’t betray me after you get what you want, we will only give you information for three campers per week.”

 “Yeah? And what if we decide we don’t want the information anymore?” Snake questioned.

 “That’s fine, but you still owe me your services when I need them. After all, I have all of _your_ information, as well.”

 The boys in uniform looked at one another, seeing how the others reacted or if they objected. After the exchange of looks, they all seemed on board with the plan. They could expand the Woodscouts’ camp, force new recruits to obey, and have serious knowledge about anyone they wished. All for the price of occasional labor, which they could just make their new scouts do for them. What could go wrong?

 “You have yourself a deal, but only _after_ you let us have one trial to see if it works as effective blackmail.” Pikeman stated, showing they aren’t the only one with the power to negotiate.

 The voice scoffed.

 “Fair enough. So…” They leaned forward, “Who will be your first victim?”

 Pikeman snickered.

 “I think our little friend Max would be the perfect experimental candidate.”

 

 That same night back at Camp Campbell, it was already well past the campers’ bedtime. Neil and Max were in their tent, both awake and bored. Neil was under his covers drifting off into sleep, and Max sat on top of his cot, cross-legged and leaning against the back edge of his bed. He was bored and wide-awake, but didn’t want to keep his roommate awake with talking since they had a long day of activities, as per usual. Max sighed, wishing he didn’t have so much on his mind. They were halfway through the summer, and as much as he hated staying at this godforsaken prison, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to go home, either. He hadn’t left off with his parents on a good note.

 Before his mom dumped him at the bus stop with nothing but a reused plastic shopping bag containing one other pair of jeans, underwear, and a few yellow camp shirts, he had gotten into a huge fight against his parents (not like that was new, with his family). Max knew he was on his own when it came to hygiene products, but before he was rushed out the door on short notice, he made sure to grab his stuffed bear his older sister had gotten for him. He wasn’t sure how long it would be before he would see her again, since he was scared they would send her to a conversion camp, which can last even longer than the summer.

 He glanced at Neil to see if he was looking, but saw he had fallen asleep. He then picked up the plush from underneath his pillow he and his sister had named “Mr. Honeynuts” when they were younger, and stared at the faded symbolism. He was truly scared for her. His parents had always favored her over Max to an overly obvious extent, as they would always praise her for her good grades and accomplishments while either always comparing Max to show him how much he sucked or just ignored him completely. She and Max had an unspoken bond, for she would stand up for him from time to time when their parents were being unfair to him. Max didn’t have any friends at school, not to say he was a loner, either. He would sometimes talk to other kids, and they might talk to him, but he was advanced for his age and felt developmentally out of place.

 His sister, who is three years older than him, would always offer to include Max with her friends. As much as he appreciated it, he’d prefer to just be with his sister. When her friends were around, they’d go and smoke weed together while Max mostly just stayed quiet, mildly entertained by the 13-year-olds’ high conversations, and from time to time would have a little fun messing with the stoners in their altered state of mind. Their parents didn’t care where they went after school, so long as it meant they didn’t have to deal with Max. But once it was just Max and his sister, he could tell her anything, and she could do the same with him. It was such a good feeling to have at least one person in your life that you know will always care about you. Even if his parents saw his sister as an angel and Max as a problem child, that didn’t stop the two from bonding and being attached to each other.

 Suddenly, Max could swear he heard soft mumbling coming from a few male voices outside the tent. He eyed the zipped door suspiciously and hid his bear back under his pillow as the voices drew closer. Wearily getting off of his bed, he made his way toward the exit and slowly unzipped it, poking his head out and squinting to see better since the only light source was the moonlight. His eyes slowly scanned from left to right when suddenly, he was face-to-face with a Woodscout.

 Taken aback, Max gasped as he instinctively backed away, but Petrol grabbed him by his hoodie collar, pulled him out of the tent, and threw him face-down onto the dirt. Max quickly spun around to see Pikeman, Snake, and Petrol all standing over him like a hungry pack of coyotes that were about to kill their prey. Max went to open his mouth and yell for Neil when Petrol acted quickly, bending down and covering his mouth with one much larger hand. Max’s smaller hands tried prying off the older boy’s from his face, so Petrol scooped Max off the ground, holding his whole body with one of his arms, carrying Max and pinning his arms while his other hand still covered his mouth. Max tried wriggling out of the militant teen’s grip, glaring as Pikeman watched him struggle in vain, clearly amused.

 “Step one complete.” Pikeman confirmed, “Come along, now, gentleman. We’ve got some work to do.” He laughed maniacally as he led them all away from the camp and toward a Woodscouts’ boat.


	3. The Woodscouts' Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will make you say, "Wow, the Woodscouts are assholes!" by the end.
> 
>  
> 
> No, but really, this is one of my favorite chapters I've ever written for a fanfic.

**_Still within the same flashback as before…_ **

 

 Max sat hugging his knees to his chest while anxiously looking back and forth at the older boys as the motorboat cruised across Lake Lilac. It was a chilly night, and the further they went across the water, the foggier and darker it became. Max was uncomfortable with the awkward silence, and became more and more nervous as he dwelled on the possibilities of torment he might end up facing. He considered yelling for help now that his mouth wasn’t covered, or even jumping out of the boat. However, he knew the teens overpowered him individually, let alone three of them together. He didn’t stand a fighting chance of getting far, even if he managed to dive into the cold waters.

 The only thought Max could muster to calm himself was remembering that once his counselors notice he’s missing, they’ll go find him like they did last time he was captured by the Woodscouts. As nice as it was to be rescued, Max couldn’t help but think the only reason Gwen and David got him back was because they would be liable if he were to be hurt or missing. His eyes went from shaken up to sad as he crouched his neck down to bury his face into his knees.

 He felt a hard smack to the back of his neck, causing him to gasp as his head shot up in shock.

 “Sit up straight!” Pikeman demanded.

 Max turned back, glaring at him while rubbing the back of his neck in pain.

 “Yeah, and put your feet down. You’re not a baby.” Snake added.

 “I’m not doing it because I’m ‘a baby’.” Max snapped, now shooting his gaze toward Snake, “It’s fucking freezing out and I wasn’t exactly prepared for this, you know.”

 Snake stood up, glowering down at Max. “What did you just say to me?”

 Max’s eyes widened, scooting back slightly and putting his feet down on the floor of the boat.

 “Yeah. That’s what I thought.” Snake growled, sitting back down.

  _Damn, these shitbirds really mean business tonight…_

 A few more minutes of awkward silence and suspense had passed when they arrived at the Woodscouts’ military-like camp. Max was tense, his stomach felt it was twisting in knots. But why? He’s been here before, he knows the deal. He just needs to hold out until David or whoever comes and gets him. Why did the vibes feel so out of place this time?

 As Pikeman and Snake got out of the boat, Petrol grabbed Max and swung him over his shoulder.

 “Hey, what the hell?! I can walk!” Max protested, trying to pull himself out from his grasp as they marched toward the front gates.

 Pikeman, who was now behind Petrol, looked up at Max’s frustrated face as he struggled. “It’s easier to assure you don’t try and escape this way.”

 “Escape? We’re on an island, how far could I get?!”

  _Well, I mean, I suppose I COULD just hijack the boat…_

 “Enough talking, peasant!” Pikeman snapped.

 Max scowled as the zitfaced leader walked forward and unlocked the tall metal gate. He pushed the sliding doors aside and let his colleagues pass with their prisoner. He then closed and locked it back up, following behind as they went around the large main tent.

 Max looked around, confused.

 “Uh, where are you taking me?” Max asked, “Don’t you normally bring new recruits into the headquarters first so you can tie them to a chair and hit them in the face for no fucking reason?”

 “Maxwell, I’m not going to tell you again. Speak when spoken to.”

 “But, you didn’t say tha-”

 Pikeman reached up and backhanded Max across the face, causing him to yelp in pain.

 “Don’t be a smartass! You know what I meant.” Pikeman scolded, “We’re taking you somewhere more private, somewhere no one will hear you scream.”

 Max gulped, his eyes finally showing some resemblance of fear. Pikeman snickered. He was just messing with him, but it was still amusing to watch the little camper get more antsy. For some reason, psychological torment was fun for them to inflict on others, especially the stubborn ones.

 The three scouts with one carrying their first victim made their way over to a lone dark tent in the corner of the base, for some reason separate from the others.

 Max thought about the only possible outcomes he could make out of this scenario. “Uh, so are you guys planning on fucking me, killing me, or both? Because I would really prefer if you just killed me.” He knew he wasn’t “supposed” to talk, but at this point, he had nothing to lose.

 “What the hell? Neither!” Pikeman was so taken aback by the absurd comment that he didn’t even lecture Max for speaking.

 They entered and Snake zipped the tent shut behind them. There was a lone rectangular white table in the center with a single cold metal chair, which Petrol put Max down onto. The only source of light was a headlamp shining uncomfortably bright, which was beaming only onto Max, who was squinting less and less as his eyes adjusted to the light. His neck and shoulders hunched together nervously as he tried to look around, but the light was so blinding all he could see was the table in front of him. Everything else in the room looked dark.

 “So!” Pikeman slammed both of his hands down on the table, leaning forward so his evil grin was visible as well. Max jumped and reactively sat up straight, it seemed like the redhead came out of nowhere. He glanced down and noticed the pale teen had a folder labeled "Maxwell" with papers in it.

 “Pretty bold of you to assume my name is Maxwell,” Max commented, “For all you’re aware of, I could be Maximilian, or Maximo, or Maximus, or Maxquisha. You don’t know.”

 Pikeman laughed. “Oh, but we do, Max. We know lots of things about you. In fact, we know things about you that not even _you_ know.”

 “Oh yeah? And how’s that?” Max folded his arms, raising an eyebrow.

 “We have our connections.”

 “Or you’re just stalkers.” Max retorted.

 “Well, I-” Pikeman froze for a second. “I mean, yeah, I guess that’s a pretty fair statement. But we see it as more of a spy mission.”

 “It’s stalking.”

 “Enough!” Pikeman got in his face and shouted, causing Max to lean back and shut his mouth.

 Pikeman smirked, then stood back up straight and lifted the folder, opening it and skimming through.

 “So, I see life isn’t going too well at home, is it?” The redhead confirmed, watching Max’s facial expression change from mildly irritated to uncomfortable. Then he turned defensive.

 “Who cares, life at home is tough for a lot of people.” Max responded, trying not to show weakness, “I mean, that’s such a vague statement, it could be used in a horoscope reading from the internet.”

 “Oh really, Max?” Pikeman raised an eyebrow, “Is it also that common of a scenario for children’s parents to show affection only to their firstborn while neglecting and abusing their second child?”

 Max’s eyes widened and looked off to the side. “Well, it could be, but that was weirdly specific.”

 “Don’t lie to me, Maxwell.”

 Max’s narrowed his eyes as he pouted. “So, what? You know I have a shitty life, big whoop. I don’t see how-”

 “ _And_ that sibling of yours you seem to be quite close with,” Pikeman added, “I’m surprised you have such a hard time dealing big boys like us, having an older brother and all.”

 “She’s _not_ my brother!” Max stood up on the chair, balling his fists to his side. “She’s my sister! How can you supposedly claim to have all of this information about me and not even get one of the most important people in my life’s gender right!?” Max flinched as he felt two large hands from behind him (which he assumed to be Petrol’s) pushing him down on the shoulders back into a sitting position again and holding him still.

 Pikeman looked irritated. He glanced back down at the papers, skimming through more information. Clearly, he hadn’t read everything yet.

 “Oh. He’s...a transgender.” Pikeman commented.

 “ _She._ ” Max corrected, “She’s a trans _girl_. That means you use _female_ pronouns, idiot.” Max widened his eyes and looked around nervously as he felt Petrol squeeze him tighter. He hadn’t realized how angry he was getting, and was digging himself into a deeper hole. However, he was surprised Pikeman wasn’t upset by his remark. He just kept reading further into the information, his facial expression changing to almost sorrowful.

 “A-and apparently your parents told him- er, _her,_  that if she didn’t go to conversion camp and become a male, they would...give you up for adoption.”

 Max looked up, clear hurt in his eyes. “Wait, what?” He choked, “Are you guys just fucking with me?” He knew his parents didn’t want him, but they couldn’t possibly be willing to give him up just to get his sister to do what they want, could they?

 Pikeman silently read further on, Max observing the ginger's mortified face.

 “What, what is it?!” Max asked desperately, “What more could you possibly know about my life that I don’t?!”

 Pikeman stopped, looking around the room at the other two Woodscouts.

 “Guys, I...I think this is a bad idea.” Pikeman admitted.

 “What are you on about?” Snake inquired.

 “J-just...come read this.”

 It was too dark for Max to see them from the angle he was at, but he heard Snake gasp. “Goddamn...I really feel like an asshole. Should we just let him go?”

 Max was beginning to get furious. “This is a really fucked up prank!” He shouted, desperately trying to get out of the chair to grab the folder. Petrol held his shoulders down even tighter, rendering him immobile. “You’re hurting me, you bastard!”

 “Petrol, that’s enough. Let him go.” Pikeman demanded. Petrol immediately released Max and saluted. Max rubbed his right shoulder, since that one felt more sore for some reason. He casually stood back up on the chair and quietly stared at Pikeman as if ready for a showdown. He could faintly see him in the shadows holding his supposed information. Catching the scouts off guard, he sprang across the table to grab the folder when Snake tackled Max to the ground, straddling him and holding him down.

 “Seriously?! I thought you just told that other buffoon to let me go! Are you taking turns now?!” Max yelled.

 “Look, kid,” Snake said, holding onto Max’s hair and leaning toward his face, “We’ll take you back now if you don’t mention anything that happened tonight. Got it?”

 Max’s heart sank in. They were really being serious, unless this was still all one fucked up elaborate prank. It most likely wasn’t, though, since they didn’t exactly seem like the type of bunch to actually think things through. They were significantly more brawn than brains.

 “But I want to know! This is my life, why can’t you just fucking tell me?!”

 Snake sighed solemnly, looking up to Pikeman to see what to do.

 “Well,” Pikeman said, scratching the back of his neck nervously and looking down at Max. He felt so guilty and awful for being mean to him after reading more into his life. He was just a 10-year-old kid, and no one even told him about-

 “Well?!” Max snapped.

 “I...really don’t think we should be the ones to pass this information on to you.” He admitted, “Let’s just...bring you back to your camp and forget any of this happened.”

 Max growled, his face reddening in fury, frustration, and hurt. Seeing that determination in his eyes, Pikeman thought it was too bad they couldn’t recruit him. However, at this point, he morally knew that this kid already has to deal with enough crap in his life. And the poor boy didn’t even know what he had coming.

 “What if we gave this information to one of his counselors?” Snake suggested.

 “Shouldn’t Iget a say in this, too?!” Max pleaded. Snake sighed and got off of Max. He even offered him a hand to help him stand up. Max refused to take the gesture, but was so emotionally and physically drained that he tumbled back down when trying to stand on his own. Snake rolled his eyes and continued to watch the stubborn boy weakly help himself.

 “This was a waste of time.” Snake stated.

 “Well, you're right on both things, Snake. We probably _should_  give his counselors the information so they can decide what to do.” Pikeman declared, “I mean, I know it would probably seem sketchy that we acquired this information, but man, would I feel shitty if I knew this and Max didn’t…”

 Max shot a death glare up at the older boy. It infuriated him beyond belief that the assholes who abducted him had stolen private information somehow, made it obvious they know something he doesn't, yet they still talked amongst themselves like he was inferior and undeserving of knowing. He had to stay strong if he wanted to negotiate, no matter how much fury was building up inside. “Trust me, David is an idiot. He doesn’t question anything. The founder of Camp Campbell is wanted by the government and he _still_ thinks he’s a hero.”

 “Oh, you’re talking about the happy-go-lucky guy that you could stab his mother in front him and he'd still manage to see the bright side?” Pikeman asked.

 Max just nodded, attempting to contain a complete breakdown. 

 “Damn, I was hoping I could see Gwen-“

 “Then tell it to fucking Gwen!" Max shouted, "I don’t care! In fact, I don’t even want David to know! He’d probably sing a fucking song about it!”

 “Well, you’re the one who brought David up, first.” Pikeman pointed out, then immediately bit his tongue regretting verbally noting that observation to Max. The small boy went flushed from embarrassment. At this point, he’d been so humiliated that he truly _wished_ they had killed him like he thought they would.

 One last time, Max made an unexpected and spontaneous dash toward the folder of secrets to try and take it away from the Woodscouts’ grasp. Petrol acted fast, whacking Max in the back of the head with the metal chair and knocking him back down on the ground.

 “Damn, Petrol, you didn’t need to do that!” Pikeman exclaimed. Petrol looked confused, since this kind of behaviour was typically accepted amongst the Woodscouts community (which is acting in self-defense and/or protecting others). Snake flipped Max over, but the boy’s eyes were closed and body acted like a ragdoll.

 “Good, he’s knocked out at least. This’ll make things easier.” Snake remarked.

 “Yes, and though you may have acted a little impulsively, I’m glad you hit him on the back of his head so no one will see any injuries, Petrol. Good job!” Pikeman commended.

 Petrol stood tall and saluted. Snake lifted Max’s unconscious body up, holding him in his arms from underneath his back and knees. The redhead turned his attention to three.

 “Now, here’s the plan. Both of you will sneak into Camp Campbell and return Max to his bed, and I’ll take care of the counselor’s receiving Max’s...er, news…” Pikeman trailed off, as they all began heading toward the boat. As much as he would love to have leverage, he felt too goddamn bad for the kid.

 

Max awoke in his bed with pain on the back of his head. His body ached as he tried recalling everything that the Woodscouts had done to him that night. He laid there in the darkness, unsure of how long he’d been out and dropped off back at camp. Crickets chirped outside of their tent as the wind howled through the trees. After groggily attempting to recall what those bastards did, he could hear coyotes howling in unison from somewhere in the woods.

  _That coyote pack must have found a prey and started killing it._  Max thought to himself, Whatever _was killed, it was outnumbered by a lot…_  

_I know how that shit feels._

 Max dwelled on what it must be like to have a family that actually works together. He respected the wild animals’ ways of life. Personally for him, if he didn’t have his sister, he’d be alone.

  _Wait._

 He grabbed his chest when he started having a hard time breathing, panic kicking in.

_I remember what those fuckers told me now..._

 

**_End flashback._ **


	4. A Stroll in the Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There might be a LOT more going on than Max had originally thought...

David ran toward the lake, making the assumption that Max had gone to start his activities with the rest of the campers.

“Max!!!” He called, as everyone but Neil, Nikki, and Gwen ignored him.

“Are you kidding me?” Gwen asked, “You had one job, David. One job.”

“Well, he’s been acting a little...unpredictable.” David responded.

“What else is new?” Gwen rolled her eyes.

Nikki ran up to him, looking up as Neil followed behind.

“Neil says he woke up to Max crying really early in the morning before the sun rose!”

Neil nudged her, “Dude, come on. Do you really think he’d want them knowing that?”

Gwen looked at Neil, appearing surprised yet saddened.

“Wait, Neil, is this true?” She asked, the tone in her voice reluctant.

Neil just nodded.

“ _ That fucker was telling the truth… _ ” Gwen said under her breath.

“Of course I am, why would I lie about something like that?” Neil asked.

“No, no,” Gwen waved her hand up, “Not you.”

The three others in the conversation looked amongst themselves, exchanging looks of confusion.

“Gwen, is there something you know?” David inquired.

The tan woman averted her eyes to the side, making it obvious she had information she wasn’t telling. 

The night before, when Snake and Petrol brought an unconscious Max to his bed, Pikeman had made his way to find Gwen as opposed to David like Max had requested. He admitted to taking Max and having information about the boy, but said they’d leave Camp Campbell alone if this knowledge didn’t get to anyone else other than Max. Pikeman also mentioned that he didn’t tell Max the news himself because he didn’t want to have to deal with a hysterical child. Gwen skimmed through the folder, having an idea of what was going on in the young Indian boy’s life. She was skeptical of how true this all was. When the teens left, she went to David and told a white lie, saying the Woodscouts would leave them alone from now on since they had caused Max so much pain. David wanted to go and check on him to see if he was alright, but she said he needed some space. Gwen made sure not to tell David about the folder, but just informed him of the late-night abduction so he would agree to give Max a chance to sleep in. She empathized with him, knowing the whole journey must have been physically and emotionally exhausting.

She felt incredibly terrible for withholding the knowledge she had. Poor Max, he did deserve to know. Those brats took him from the comfort of his own tent and tormented him. They had already told him his parents were willing to give him up for adoption. How could she possibly tell him something even more heartbreaking than that? Why did it have to be  _ her _ that was the bearer of bad news?

“Uh, Earth to Gwen?” Nikki spoke up, tapping her leg.

“Oh, uh, kids…” She looked down at the two, “Do you think you could help us find Max?”

“But today was supposed to be Adventure Camp!” Nikki whined, “I was gonna show everyone how to hunt and kill prey with nothing but their teeth!”

“I wasn't particularly looking forward to that...” Neil admitted.

Gwen sighed, then looked at David for help.

“Oh, Gwen,” David said condescendly, “I’m sure Max didn’t go far! I’ve been thinking, maybe he just needed more alone time, like you said last night!”

She felt frustrated he didn’t back her up, but knew it wasn’t his fault since he didn’t know the gravity of the situation.

“Damnit, David, I don’t want to do this alone,” She said, “We can’t start the day if we don’t know where all of the campers are.”

David looked slightly surprised that Gwen was the one wanting to be responsible. “I’m sorry, you’re absolutely right! Nikki, we are postponing the activities until everyone is here!”

Nikki groaned, but agreed. “It wouldn’t be the same without Max, anyways.”

 

Meanwhile, Max had been strolling down a path for God knows how long, reflecting on his life and worrying about which decision his sister had made. He wanted her to be happy being herself, but he knew their parents didn’t give a shit about that. They wanted her to stay the perfect high-honors “son” they thought they had before. They would refuse to call her by her preferred name. It was hard to get used to, but Max tried his best to remember to call her Lillie rather than Lucas. It didn’t surprise him that his abusive and manipulative parents were transphobic, even for their own kid. No matter what she chose, it was a win-win for their parents. Either they forced her to remain her birth gender, or they’d get rid of Max. 

He didn’t understand why his parents hated him so much. Sure, he liked to challenge authorities, question their beliefs, and cause trouble. But he was their son, and he knew he wasn’t a bad person. At least, he didn’t used to be. 

Though it had been sunny at the beginning of the day, the sky seemed to be getting much darker. Something in the air didn’t feel right. It almost felt...unnatural. It was as if the weather was being tampered with. He wouldn’t be surprised, being one to believe in conspiracies. Yet another reason his parents thought so little of him. He found it humorous that they found him to be so stupid, yet when they weren’t around, he and Lillie would go on for hours discussing different theories even though they always praised her for being the smart one. She was even better to talk to after she had a joint, because the things he said seemed to blow her mind even more.

Damn, he really missed her.

When were his asshole guardians going to tell him about their plan?

And what else could  _ possibly _ be going on that would even make the insensitive Woodscouts concerned?

Max looked up as thunder boomed, and a flash of lightning lit up the sky. He held his hand out while walking to feel if there was any rain coming down, but his hands stayed dry. Continuing to walk while suspiciously looking at the sky, he whacked his foot on something metal.

“Ow! Fuck!” He exclaimed, looking down and seeing a latch that appeared to be mostly covered in dirt.

“The hell?” Bending down, he began brushing the dirt off to reveal what seemed to be a door that led underground.

“The fuck is this doing out in the middle of nowhere?”

Another loud crack of thunder made him jump, and as the lightning flashed once more, he saw the words faintly engraved…

 

_ Campbell Laboratory. _


	5. True Lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is only the beginning of a treacherous underground nightmare.

_Did that say… “laboratory?”_

_I thought… the lab was on Spooky Island?_

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed again.

_Or maybe…_

Max tried pulling at the latch, unable to see he needed to type a code in.

_...this is the true lab?_

He grabbed the handle with both hands, jerking it upward as he dug his heels into the dirt.

_Does it contain something darker than those mild but still fucked experiments on the island?_

Then he stopped.

Max finally grinned.

He grinned like he was trying to appear intimidating, though no one else was around to threat.

Bending down toward the latch to see if there was a certain way to twist or turn the handle, he faintly saw an arrangement of buttons, but couldn’t make out the letters.

Cold wetness iced the back of his neck. A chill went down his spine as he looked up. Facing skyward, he felt more droplets against his skin, the sky a dim misty gray with random darker clouds that had purple hues and veins. He bent down once more as the rain coming down harder washed away the dirt from off the underground door.

**Enter Passcode:**

_Psh. If this is what I think it is, Campbell is more idiotic than I initially thought._

He began typing.

**C A M P E  D I E M**

A faint beeping came from the other side. He went to lean closer and press his ear against the door when a light coming from the ground flashed directly in his eyes and face. Max blinked a few times, it has surprised and temporarily blinded him.

Then, some automatic-sounding clicking churned in the handle. As soon as all of the noises had stopped, he tried the door once more. It had finally opened, creaking as Max heaved it up. He threw it to the side, flipping it onto the ground. He peered down the hatch at a ladder that lead further down.

“Heh, I bet there’s some pretty interesting shit I’ll find down here…” Max said to himself, grinning sinisterly once more. It seemed inevitable he’d be safe from other human contact if he made his way into the abandoned catacombs. Going down feet first, he crawled into the dark hole. The further he went, the more the blackness swallowed him. Rain water still dripped onto his head from above.

Though it was eerie, nothing could possibly be more disturbing than old people having kinky sex in a dungeon. After witnessing that, Max felt more fearless than he was prior to the incident. Other than the fact that he had been traumatized, of course. There was no unseeing what he had seen.

When he went to move his arm while climbing, faint tapping against the stone cylinder startled him. He felt the walls around him with one of his hands while holding onto the ladder with the other. Realizing it was just a string with a knob at the end he had knocked into, he felt relieved. Pulling at it out of curiosity, he was pleasantly surprised when it had turned out to activate the lights. Dim bulbs lit up the path down to the bottom. Looking down, Max clung to the ladder with both hands, hugging his body closer to the wall. He still had a long way to climb if he were to reach the floor.

_Oh shit…_

He had decided at that point not to look down and to just keep going. His legs were starting to ache by the time he neared the bottom. Taking one final step, he let go and stood on the floor, nearly out of breath.

“Is it even _necessary_ for it to be so far underground?!” He said aloud, throwing his arms out and giving the ladder an angry look.

Turning around to see this so-called laboratory, he was faced with a long white hallway lit up by fluorescent lights as if it were a hospital. Most of the lights barely worked, flickered, or did nothing at all. He didn’t seem to mind, though. Sure, it wasn’t bright, but at least he could see where he was going.

Making his way down the uncanny whiteness, he observed his surroundings. He felt like he was dreaming, the only sounds he could hear were the tapping of the rain echoing down from the door he left open, his own footsteps, and annoying flickering coming from the lights that barely worked. The floor was mostly empty, aside from cobwebs and random discarded syringes and other used nasty hospital tools. After a long and uncomfortable stroll, he came across what appeared to be the main room. He knew there was a large opening in front of him where the lights had stopped. It was really inconvenient that the string he pulled earlier turned on the lights everywhere except the lab itself. Feeling against the wall for some sort of switch, he tripped over the wheel of a cart, falling onto the floor and bringing everything down with him. As the cart turned on its side, metal clanked and crashed as he put his hands out to break his fall.

“OW!” He yelped as his hands and knees landed on sharp objects. Though he knew he was alone, the loud noises he created made him feel like he was disturbing the peace somehow. He glanced at his palms. He could barely make out the blood dripping down from both of them, as the crimson glistened in the lights coming from the side of him down the hall. Standing up and ignoring his wounds, he continued skimming along the wall for any sort of switch. He didn’t care if he was getting blood all over the walls. For all he knew, there probably already were blood stains everywhere.

Suddenly, his hand grasped what seemed to be a doorknob. Curiously, he tried opening it, but to no avail. Shrugging it off, he went to continue searching along the walls when he immediately found a switch right after the door. Without hesitation after realizing what it was, he flicked it on, expecting the whole room to light up. Instead, the only light that turned on was coming from the other side of the door. A translucent glass window was high up on the door, seemingly meant for observing from the outside.

Max tried standing on his toes and even hopping a little to look in, but still wasn’t even close to being tall enough. At least the light source helped him see the large room better, even if it was only slightly. Turning around, he could see his dimly lit surroundings better. It appeared there were even more doors meant for what he assumed to be containment. Squinting to try and see the center of the room better, he wandered forward toward a long counter. His hands reached up to feel the top, landing on what felt like belts and buckles attached to the table.

 _Campbell probably strapped his experiments down using these…_ Max concluded.

**SLAM.**

“FUCK!” Max exclaimed in shock, retracting his hands and turning toward the hall where the sound came from. The noise just about gave him a heart attack, since he thought for certain he was alone. It sounded like the door he came in through had shut, so he may have been locked in. That wouldn’t have been all too bad, hadn’t he heard the echoing footstep sounds climbing down the ladder quickly. He covered his mouth, desperately looking around for a place to hide.

Glancing at the cart he had knocked over, he panicked and speed-tip-toed toward it, lifting it up as silently as possible and crawling underneath. It was the only hiding spot he could think of in that moment. He held his breath in absolute fear as his crouched body started to shake uncontrollably while the sleek footsteps reached the bottom and practically ran down the hall. As they got closer, Max accidentally let out a small whimper from pure terror in not knowing what to expect (after seeing all of the medieval torture-like devices in the hall) but tried to remain as silent as possible.  

Bright fluorescent lights illuminated the large room he was in as soon as the figure entered. Max’s heart pounded rapidly, feeling as if it were about to jump out of his chest. He couldn’t see much other than what was in front of him, which was all of the scattered white medical tools he had knocked off the cart earlier. Strangely enough, they looked quite new compared to what he observed in the hallway.

 _“Hm hm hm hm hm~_ ” The stranger's voice leisurely hummed as he wandered around the room. “Oh, Maaaax. I know you’re in here!”

_The fuck?_

“Don’t worry, I’m not psychic! I set up a camera to take any trespasser’s photo who entered after putting in the wrong password! Pretty clever, huh?”

_Don’t tell me that’s..._

“I rushed over as soon as I saw it was you so I could catch you before you had a chance to escape!”

White boots approached the cart. Max hyperventilated into his sleeve, the air rapidly breathing into his cloth practically giving himself away. His eyes shook, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. He knew it was over. There was no way he wasn’t going to be caught by this man he knew for a _fact_ was insane.

The boots casually slid and faced him directly, inches away from his body.

“My, my,” Daniel tsked, “You’ve already made such a mess, and you only just got here...”

Right before Daniel was about to bend down, Max darted forward, grabbing a white metal scalpel knife off the floor and attempting to stab the cultist in the ankle. Before he was able to harm him, Daniel immediately seized Max’s wrist, gripping it so hard he was forced to release the weapon he was holding. Max squeaked as he felt like the wound on his hand had reopened from the pressure. Daniel lifted him up high off the ground so he was face-to-face with him. Max glared a defeated look into the blond’s eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Put me down, freak!” Max demanded, trying to kick forward. Daniel held him out just enough so his little legs couldn’t reach him.

“I expected of all people to wander into a trap, you’d be the first one to stick your nose in it.” Daniel grinned, “I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when my computer informed me the intruder was you.”

“ _I’m_ the intruder?” Max snapped, “This place is _Campbell’s_ lab yet _you_ set up a security system!”

This made Daniel laugh. “It’s not Campbell’s lab! At least, not anymore, it isn’t.”

Max growled, trying to tug his arm free.

Daniel continued smiling, amused by the boy’s vain determination to free himself.

“It’s your worst nightmare, now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo plot twist. I wonder why Daniel decided to take over an abandoned lab at camp? I mean, the freak's got a lot of motives. Anything is possible.


	6. Being Defiant Won't Save You.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has finally come. Max finally made it to the plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize I haven't updated that recently! I have a dead-end job so I've been working on the chapter a little bit each night afterwards. It's finally done.  
> And soon this stuff is going to get, like, really triggering. So PLEASE, you have been warned. I'll explain why I chose to write what I wrote once I'm done. Enjoy, campers, and support Rooster Teeth! Watch season 3, it's coming out on their website May 25th. It's one of the reasons I don't want to kill myself!  
> You think I'm joking, don't you?

“Agh! Motherfucker!” Max cussed.

Daniel had abruptly let go of Max’s arm and dropped him onto the floor, causing him to fall harshly to his hands and knees. His legs already felt like they had bruised. His jeans were torn and palms were bloody again as he leaned back while still on his knees to look at them. The sharp miscellaneous metal tools were still scattered on the white yet now stained terrazzo tiles.

Max looked up at Daniel, unamused. Daniel cocked his head.

“I’m surprised you’re not trying to make a run for it.” The Aryan commended.

The boy in the blue sweatshirt glared up at his new captor, who he knew was attempting to provoke him. “You’d like to see me fail at that, wouldn’t you.”

Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle. “For such an insubordinate little boy, you learn so quickly.”

Max groaned. “Whatever. That doesn’t mean I’m going to hesitate when given the opportunity to kill you.”

Daniel bent down to ruffled the child’s hair, showing Max he was no more threatening to him than a yapping puppy.

“Yeah, that’s cute, Max.” Daniel teased, as if he had the right to joke with him. “You’ve already been forcefully taken and held prisoner by teenagers. What makes you think you could win a fight against a full grown adult?”

Max pushed Daniel’s creepy touch away from his head and stood up, looking up at the lunatic and meeting his gaze. “I may not be able to ‘win’ against you physically, but I can outsmart your shriveled up brainwashed turd of a mind any day. That,” Max’s eyes glowered even more, “I can promise you.”

Daniel stood up silently, intensely scowling at the child.

If Max were being honest right now, he felt like he was about to shit himself. He was fearful of what the blond psycho would do to him after he impulsively made that bold threat. Usually, Daniel had an unnatural grin across his face, but it had looked like he temporarily gave up the act to express to Max how upset he was. Max couldn’t tell what the man was feeling, whether he was angry, or disappointed, or sad, or maybe he wasn’t feeling anything at all and he’s just a hypnotized walking corpse puppet. Who knows what this weirdo does in his cult rituals.

“It’s unfortunate your mind cannot protect you from _this._ ”

“Heh, needed a lot of time to think of that comeback, didn’t you-” Max abruptly yelped in the midst of his snide remark as Daniel grabbed him by his dark hair scruff and started dragging him across the room.

“Ow! You’re hurting me and ripping out my fucking hair, you goddamn maniac!” Max yelled as he kicked his legs out trying to free himself, though it was painful to pull away from the tight grip on his curls.

Daniel stopped in front of one of the doors, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out a plastic white keycard as Max struggled against his grasp, making little grunts as he was trying to pry off Daniel’s fingers with his significantly smaller hands. As Max was making slight progress from freeing himself, Daniel looked down and smiled while tightening his clutches once more as Max gasped in pain, proving to him his efforts would make no difference.

While Max continued to struggle once more and mumble crude remarks despite knowing it was futile, Daniel slid the card into a slot on the door in front of them, turning the tiny light near the knob from red to green, signifying it being unlocked. He then flicked on the light switch and pushed the door open, the sound of the heavy metal scraping on the floor catching Max’s attention to cease fighting and look into the opening.

It was a small bright white room, not much larger than a typical gas station bathroom. It was entirely empty except for the obvious. Pushed against the back wall was a silver table with a child-sized body slightly larger than Max with a white sheet over it. Feeding tubes and other medical attachments led underneath the blanket, assumingly connected to the body underneath. The sheet was almost completely still, other than the subtle movement toward the center, as if whatever was there was still breathing.

“Oops! Wrong door!” Daniel exclaimed, shutting off the light then pulling the door closed as quickly as he could manage with one arm since he was still restraining Max with his other. Right before it shut, Max could have sworn he saw a glimpse of something light up underneath the blanket down by the end of the body. He raised an eyebrow at this observation.

“What the fuck was that?” Max asked, though he wasn’t so sure he actually wanted to know.

“Nothing to worry about, Max.” Daniel replied, then continued to drag Max over to the next door after pulling the same card out from the last one. This time, Daniel turned on the light and peered in through the tiny window (like all of the other containment rooms had) to make sure it was the correct one.

 _Okay, so it’s blatantly obvious at this point there’s even more shit within these rooms he doesn’t want me to see…_ Max thought to himself.

Unlocking the chamber with his keycard once more, Daniel pushed open the door. It was as tiny and vacant as the other he had just seen, the only thing in there being an almost flat pillow on the floor with no case.

“Ah, perfect.” Daniel smiled, lifting Max by his head and tossing him into the ivory room onto the floor like he was discarding trash. Max skidded on his side, hissing in discomfort but trying to hide the fact he was in pain at this point. He pushed himself off the abnormally sterilized ground and faced Daniel with his fierce glare.

“Stop tossing me around like I’m your goddamn plaything!” Max snapped.

Daniel tutted. “I thought we’ve established you’re helpless in this situation?” He cracked his neck, “What makes you think I won’t do what I want to you?”

Instinctively, Max took a step back after Daniel made that comment.

“Now first, I need you to remove your clothes.” Daniel ordered firmly.

“What!? Why!?” Max spat as he began to panic.

“I meant to grab your scrubs before throwing you in here, but I want to make sure you aren’t hiding any sort of weapons or drugs in your current outfit you can use against me when I come back. Take them off in front of me right now so I can confiscate them. _Then_ I’ll come back with your scrubs.”

Max stood there, baffled but not entirely surprised. Not that he expected this, but Daniel’s actions and requests have been so preposterous since the day they met that he had learned to expect the unexpected.

“I’m not comfortable doing that…” Max admitted, eyes drifting to the side so he didn’t have to look at the creep.

“Well, if you won’t comply, I’ll remove your clothes myself.”

Max cringed at the thought of Daniel unclothing him. He gave in, groaning and taking his sweatshirt off his body then throwing it onto the floor in front of him toward the cult leader. After, he stood still. He really _really_ did not want to do this.

“Continue.” Daniel demanded.

“I don’t want to, you pedophile!” Max accidentally snapped.

Daniel took a few steps forward, entering the room through the doorway.

“Ah!” Max whimpered and backed up more. “D-don’t touch me!”

The blond stopped and crossed his arms, growing impatient.

Max gave in. He did not want to anger this lunatic, especially if he had to temporarily be stripped. “Fine, fine, I’ll do it. Just… Fuck. Why are you making me do this?!”

“I’ve explained to you already.” Daniel stated, “You’re a clever boy, Max. You know how to follow orders.”

Max sighed, grudgingly sitting on the floor and untying his shoes. He tossed them in front of him, then did the same with his socks. He couldn’t help but cringe again about what he had to do next. Purposefully avoiding looking in Daniel’s direction, he awkwardly removed his shirt and hesitated before finally removing his jeans, flinging them in front of him with the rest of his articles of clothing while maintaining his averted eyes. His hands had stained some of his clothes with blood, but it wasn’t like it mattered, anyway.

As soon as Max heard Daniel’s footsteps now approaching him, he stood up while looking at him in fear as he backed against the wall in nothing but his boxers. Daniel bent down, picking up all of the discarded attire in one scoop and promptly turned around to leave, slamming the door shut behind him.

Max stood in the empty blank room. He felt cold, but was grateful that the detestable freak didn’t touch him or make him take off... _everything_.

Max shuddered at that thought. This entire situation was already freaking him out. He hadn’t truly had time to comprehend what was going on since everything was happening so fast. Now he was trapped in some sort of morbid laboratory in the middle of the woods deep underground with an utterly insane cultist in control of him and nobody had any idea where he was. He knew this camp was fucked up, but he had no idea it was _this_ fucked up.

Glancing toward the only window on the door that he wasn’t tall enough to look out of, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There was a camera in upper right corner of the ceiling, facing him.

_Whelp. Someone’s watching._

He changed his slightly cowering position against the wall, stepping forward as he shot the camera a death glare, flipping off the middle finger directly at it. Then, he walked over to the pathetic excuse of a cushion on the floor and sat on it, legs crisscrossed and arms folded. He wanted to give off a stubborn disposition, as his new plan was to show Daniel and whatever other freaks behind what was going on that he wasn’t going to be broken by them. Max was still anxious while anticipating the return of Daniel, but he damn well wasn’t going to let it show anymore.

He began reflecting on what he had witnessed thus far. He’d seen disgusting used tools and weapons, hidden cameras, and after seeing only one of the approximately seven rooms within the lab that all had the same door, he saw that... _thing_...moving under some sheets. Clearly, this lab was still in use. Some of it seemed updated, like the sleek rooms and cameras. Other parts, like the litter and terribly dim lights in the hall, not so much.

_Is Daniel really the one behind taking over the lab?_

_There’s no way that fucktard is smart enough to use science when he believes in a religion that’s even more bullshit than normal._

His frown tensed up, maintaining the intolerant look in his eyes.

_Maybe this is another Project MKUltra. Sure, the torture would suck, but at least I’d get to do some drugs before I’m killed._

_Or maybe the Soviet Union is still doing human experimentation, but covered it up here. That would explain why the founder of Camp Campbell is always going back and forth from Russia…_

Max wasn’t knocking any of the theories.

 _Anything is possible. Besides, it’s not like government and other elites don’t do experiments, anymore. It’s just more subliminal, so the public is blind_.

Max’s fists clenched as his own knowledge frustrated him.

_Why is everybody either insane, stupid, or both._

The familiar obnoxious sound of the large door caused Max to tense as he saw Daniel entering. The cultist threw what looked like a white ( _just like everything else_ ) long button up t-shirt that had been precisely made, as well as socks with rubber grips on the bottoms (which he assumed was to prevent falling).

“Why don’t you bleach my skin white, while you’re at it?” Max muttered.

“Oh, don’t be silly, Max!” Daniel assured, “Our God is willing to accept all races to be cleansed! We just need to dress bright to rid of our dark toxins.”

Max facepalmed, but was eager to cover his body back up. He typically didn’t give a shit what people thought of him, but he didn’t want to continue being a naked lab rat. For now, he’d just be a clothed lab rat. Leaning forward and grabbing the hospital gown, he sloppily put it on, accidentally buttoning it incorrectly so it was uneven. Max didn’t feel the need to undo it and start over, he couldn’t care less. He then slipped on the stupid little socks.

“Why don’t you stand for me?” Daniel asked, though Max knew he didn’t have a choice as he unwillingly rose.

“Awe! Our little test subject looks so prepared!”

Max balled his fists up again, refusing to change the puss on his face. Pants would have been nice to have, but the gown draped past his knees and he still had his boxers, so it was good enough for now.

Out of nowhere, Daniel’s watch began beeping.

“Oh, darn!” Daniel exclaimed, “I guess we can’t start right now.”

Max observed the man tapping on the touch-screen as he walked out of the room.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Daniel cheerfully sang, slamming the door once more and shutting off the light, leaving Max alone in the dark.


	7. Purple Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Much distress is amongst all at camp.

David paced outside near the flagpole as the frosty violet sky downpoured. Gwen was standing in the open doorway of the Mess Hall, while all of the campers were inside, seeking shelter from the unexpected storm.

“I don’t know what to do! Wouldn’t he be back by now?!” David asked, anxiety in his voice, “Do you think the Woodscouts took him again? What if he’s lost? What if bears got him? What if-”

“David, stop.” Gwen cut him off, “Listing the worst case scenarios isn’t going to help us find him quicker.”

David sniffled, he couldn’t handle losing another camper. Especially not Max, he’d been working hard to try to make him feel joy at Camp Campbell. There’s no way he would let his responsibility he’d taken on for so long become a lost cause.

Gwen sighed, “Look, I’m sure he’s alright. He’s Max, you know he’s a tough kid. He probably just wandered a bit too far and is on his way back now.” She was still aware Max had been emotionally altered with, but didn’t voice her concerns in hopes of calming David down. Both of them acting dramatic wasn’t going to be productive, and she knew it was a priority to keep the rest of the kids out of harm’s way. 

“We have to keep looking, we can’t stop!” David faced at her with a culpable look in his eyes.

Gwen felt saddened, it seemed as if David was blaming himself. Of course internally she agreed they shouldn’t quit now, she too felt somewhat guilty for his disappearance as well. Had she gone herself to wake Max up instead of David earlier, maybe he wouldn’t have fled into the forest.

“Well, the storm is getting worse. One of us is gonna have to stay and keep the kids safe. The other can keep looking, and as soon as the weather subsides, if we don’t find him by then, we’ll...figure something out.” She said, though on the inside she didn’t want to do either task alone. She knew what was up, but couldn’t bare to face Max by herself knowing what she knew.

“Hey! Why can’t we help look, didn’t you ask us to?!” Nikki piped up from behind Gwen.

As if on cue, a bright flash lit up the sky and thunder roared again as the rainwater continued to drench their surroundings.

“That’s why.” Gwen stated, “We’re not risking your safety, it’ll be hard to keep track of all of you in this condition. Now go back inside and sit down.”

“Ugh. You’re no fun! It’d be adventurous, we could do that for my camp today instead!”

“Nikki, I said no.”

“But, what if Max is in trou-”

“NIKKI, GODDAMNIT, GO SIT DOWN!” Gwen turned around and snapped, causing all of the campers within the Mess Hall to cease their individual conversations and turn their attention to the commotion.

Lightning struck and thunder boomed again.

Nikki rolled her eyes, “Oh, whatever. Ask us for help, then tell us not to. Make up your mind!” She said in her defense, turning around and walking back over to where she had been sitting with Neil.

Gwen glared toward the campers, then walked outside and shut the door behind her so she and David could finish their conversation in privacy. 

“Gwen, are you-“

“I’m fine, David,” Gwen lied, “I’ll stay here and keep the rest of the campers in order. I trust you know this place much better than I do, so go on. Go find Max.”

David gasped, then nodded. Gwen smiled and nodded, too. 

David knew he could do it, he knew he could be Max’s hero. Maybe after that, Max might even start to appreciate camp!

It was a hopeful thought.

David turned around and went into the forest, opposite from the direction they had last checked as his boots sloshed in the mud and the weather drenched him.

Gwen’s smile immediately faded as she solemnly watched her coworker disappear into the woods.

“Good luck…” She whispered under her breath, turning into the building to return to the confused children and closing the door behind her.

Neil, Nikki, and the rest of the kids all sat together at the same table, leaning forward in attempt to make their conversation less audible to Gwen as she sat in the corner, reading a trashy magazine and sulking. She was clearly avoiding explaining anything to them.

“Okay, I can’t be the only one suspicious of what’s going on.” Neil started off.

“Yeah, the weather doesn’t seem natural, it feels out of balance! I’m uncomfortable…” Nikki commented.

“That...was not what I was referring to, Nikki,” Neil trailed off for a moment, “Though, it  _ is _ a little creepy that the weather clouds are a lavender color, so quickly and randomly, too. But no, I meant that Max just left without telling us and didn’t return. The counselors are freaking out, even Gwen.” He looked back over toward their authority figure, who seemed to have tuned them out.

“Not to mention he cried himself to sleep last night!” Nikki pointed out. Neil nudged her. 

“Oh, right, sorry.” Nikki whispered.

“This is like a mystery! A dramatic improve! So tense!” Preston gushed.

“That’s because it  _ is _ a mystery, genius.” Neil rolled his eyes.

“Yes, BUT, we need more involvement!” Preston continued.

“What if he just... _ vanished  _ into thin air?” Harrison inquired, making poofing hand gestures to emphasize his idea.

“ _ Or _ he was needed for a magical quest and had to leave quickly in order to save a princess from the clutches of evil!” Nerris chirped, thinking of how exciting of an adventure that must be.

“ _ Or  _ something that is actually  _ possible _ happened to him,” Neil reiterated sarcastically to the two magical dweebs, “Just a theory, though. What would I know?”

“Actually, none of us really know anything about what’s going on right now.” Space Kid pointed out.

“Shut up, Space Kid!” Neil pointed his finger angrly.

“Ha ha, yeah, okay.” Space Kid responded genuinely and cheerfully, unphased as always.

“I mean, does it really matter that he’s gone?” Nurf asked casually.

Most of the campers gave him unimpressed looks, while Neil and Nikki scowled.

Nurf seemed surprised by their reactions. “What? I’m just saying, that little cock pocket wouldn’t give a shit if any of  _ us _ went missing.”

“That’s not true, and you know it!” Nikki defended, “He just wouldn’t care if  _ you _ went missing, you jerk!”

“Or Space Kid.” Neil added.

“Yeah! Or Space Kid!” Nikki continued.

“That’s fair.” Space Kid agreed.

“Why don’t, we just, like, do some snooping tomorrow?” Ered suggested.

Neil and Nikki exchanged looks.

“Yeah, we already planned on it.”

 

David continued his way further down the path, glancing around frantically in hopes of catching any glimpse of a clue.

“Max!” He hollered every few feet he walked, cupping his hands around his mouth to increase his volume over the sound of the deluge on the treetops. After a while, his voice strained, but he wasn’t giving up. 

His stomach fluttered slightly when he observed something noticeably out of place in the distance as he wandered further, picking up the pace. All of his surroundings were hues of pine and bark, except for something...or  _ someone _ ...the color of snow ahead. The rainwater had soaked his hair and continued getting in his face, making his vision not the best.

Wait...wait!

That is a person!

“Hey! Excuse me!” David ran and approached, halting ten feet away from the human as they stopped in their tracks, as well. Their blond head turned slowly, sky-blue eyes meeting David’s forest green eyes.

“Oh, thank goodness, it’s just David…” Daniel sighed in relief under his breath.

“Daniel?”

“Hello, David!” The pale man turned and faced him completely while simultaneously putting something behind his back, “How have you been?”

“Hi, Daniel! It’s good to see you’re better! I’ve been swell for the most part, just trying to resolve some issues is all. You know how kids can be!” David chimed enthusiastically (as he was a professional in appearing cheerful), “So, what brings you out here in the woods during a storm?”

“Oh, I just thought after the ‘bad kool-aid’ incident, it’d be nice to stop by and say hello to the campers to let them know I’m alright,” Daniel improvised, “But, I seem to have taken a few wrong turns! Now, let me ask you the same,” He cocked his head, “What are  _ you _ doing out here?”

David sighed, “Well, Max has been having a hard time recently and ended up running off. I’m searching for him as best as I can!” He was not very good at hiding the uncertainty in his voice.

Daniel’s neck jerked again to the side, cracking it. “Ah, what a troublesome boy. However,” He pointed to David, “I saw him go away from my direction earlier.”

David was puzzled. “But, I just came from here, and I didn’t pass him? At least, I don’t think I did.”

The cultist’s grin widened, “He probably strayed off the path. You should go look for him that way!”

“Alright, did you want to help me look?” David smiled.

“O-oh, well, why don’t I keep going this way, just in case he slipped past us again?”

“That’s an excellent idea!” David innocently praised, “The more coverage we can get, the better! Thank you for all of your help! Please let me know if you find him, and feel free to come back to Camp Campbell to visit the campers, I’m sure they’d love to see you!”

Daniel’s eye twitched. “Right.” He said as David turned back around and scouted further away. “I’m sure they will…”


	8. The Fresh Taste of Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a little look more into Max's home life, as well as finally see what Daniel wants with him.  
> This chapter gets a lil emotional and creepy and gory so just be weary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not being as frequent! I still plan to write this, I just have work and commissions and it's a lot being an adult. Not to mention having to socialize from time to time.  
> Anyways, please enjoy this long chapter.

_“Son of a bitch…” Lucas huffed as they walked alongside Max, frantically reviewing their schoolwork while holding up their overflowing bookbag._

_“What, don’t tell me YOU got a bad grade?” Max laughed, “Good thing mom and dad actually like you.”_

_“That’s the problem, though!”_

_Max glanced at Lucas with a puzzled look on his face. Lucas looked back at him, then sighed while stuffing their belongings back into their bag._

_“Look, buddy,” They started to explain, zipping the bag up, “You know I know they’re actually assholes, I can’t have them be pissy with me too when I come out.”_

_“Come out?”_

_Lucas rolled their eyes, “We’ve been over this, dipshit. I’m a girl, I’ve been wanting to start presenting myself as one. But you know how phobic they are about gays and whatever...”_

_“Yeah. And literally everything and everyone else except you. What’s changed?” Max questioned as they approached the pathway that lead to the door of their home._

_“Sorry, dude, I’m just nervous… school is out, and they’re gonna be so disappointed when they find out I got a C in Algebra I. Then they’ll definitely be less accepting, if possible… I worked so hard to make sure they could be the least angry they could be. All to be fucked over in the end by math!”_

_Lucas opened the front door with their key and they made their way inside. Max shut it behind them._

_“Didn’t you take some drugs before doing the final exam?” Max pointed out._

_“Hey, it’s not my fault!” Lucas defended, “My friend didn’t tell me the brownies had cannabis in them!”_

_“Shouldn’t it be obvious at this point? All you’ve been doing lately is chilling with stoners.”_

_Lucas sighed as the two sat on the couch in front of the television together._

_“I need to rethink some recent life choices…” Lucas admitted. They thought for a moment as Max grabbed the remote, then stood back up, “I’m finally going to go change and look more feminine. I’ve been dying inside to look that way, and I want you to be the first to see my transformation.”_

_Max leaned back further into the couch, clicking the television on. “Yeah, okay.”_

_Lucas smiled. “I’m so glad you don’t give a shit. This is what I love about you.”_

_They ran down the hall, grabbing their moms makeup kit out of the bathroom and closing their bedroom door. Max remained on the couch, surfing through documentaries of serial killers. In a way, it was comforting knowing he and his family weren’t as psychotic as these freaks. The gore was pretty entertaining, as well._

_Apparently, some couple named the Carsons in the 80’s went on a killing spree and even had plans to kill Ronald Reagan._

_It’s a shame they didn’t succeed, really._

_A half an hour passed when Max’s view of the tv was blocked by someone in puffy pink pants. His eyes wandered further up and saw his sibling had put on eyeliner and wore a sky blue bandana to hold down their curls and make them seem longer. They also had on flip flops, a white tank-top, and a peace necklace._

_“Call me Lillie!” She announced, giving a twirl and posing. “What do ya think? Female enough, or do I need boobies, too?”_

_Max stood up, eyeing her up and down, causing her to back up a little._

_“Do I...do I not look like…” Lillie started._

_“I mean, you could’ve chosen to look less like a dirty hippie, but I guess it’s suiting. I’ll support it. You’re my sister, after all.” Max smirked._

_Lillie’s eyes glistened as she grinned a cheeky grin, then bent down and squeezed Max into a hug. “Thank you, Max.” Max tensed at first, but then patted her back, too._

_She then leaned back and put her hands on Max’s shoulders, making direct eye contact. “Now I need you to understand something,” Lillie turned serious, which startled Max’s demeanor, “If mom and dad don’t take this well, I don’t want you to stand up for me. I want to handle this on my own, it isn’t your burden to bear and you already get enough shit from them.” She gripped him tighter, narrowing her eyes, “Do not interfere.”_

_Max grabbed her hands and pushed them off of his shoulders. “Why not? You stand up for me all the time. You don’t deserve to get hell just for being what feels right if it isn’t hurting anyone.”_

_Lillie stood up straight, crossing her arms and looking down off to the side. “It’s not worth the risk getting you involved. I don’t want them to-”_

_The front door swung open, causing Lillie to gasp and instinctively crouch behind Max._

_“Fuck, I forgot they have Fridays off…” Lillie whispered._

_“Lucas, we brought take-out!” Their mother called blindly as she was the first to enter. Their father came from behind her and they both stopped in their tracks._

_“Max! What on Earth is that girl doing in our house?!” The mother yelled, “Is this a girlfriend?”_

_“Seriously?” The dad spoke up to his wife, “Max can’t even make friends, do you honestly think he could ever get a girl to like him?”_

_Max’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t want to contribute in stirring up his parents’ emotions._

_“Well, it doesn’t matter! Under no circumstances are any of your schoolmates stupid enough to associate with you allowed on this property!” His mother stated as his father reacted by approaching Max. The boy backed up into his sister when she decided to take action._

_“STOP!” Lillie screamed, running around in front of Max and putting her arms out to stop their father._

_“Lucas?!” Both mother and father stood agape. They all went silent as a drop of nervous sweat went down her forehead._

_“M-Max didn’t sneak anyone into the house…” Lillie explained, “I...I chose to look this way.”_

_Their mother covered her mouth as tears started forming out of the corners of her eyes. Their father’s arms stiffened as his fists clenched. Lillie’s eyes widened in fear, she had never made her parents this overwhelmed before._

_“OUR ONLY GOOD SON IS A FAG!” Their mother wailed, dropping the doggy bag from Denny’s and weeping into her hands._

_Lillie’s lip quivered as she looked at her mom break down._

_“Please, mommy, this isn’t something to be upset-”_

_She couldn’t even finish justifying herself before their father pulled back his fist and socked her right in the eye, knocking her to the ground._

_“Lillie!” Max bent down and quickly cradled her wounded head as she groaned in pain, bringing her hand up to her throbbing skull._

_“Who the fuck is Lillie?!” Their father shouted while looming over the two of them._

_Max panicked as he glanced back and forth from Lillie’s bruising face and his dad._

_“She is!” Max defended, “That’s what she wants to be called, whether you like it or not, you fascists fucks!”_

_The threatening man’s eye twitched._

_“It was you…” They all turned to the mother. She raised a shaky finger and pointed at Max._

_“You were the one who did this to him, didn’t you?”_

_Before either of the children could respond, their father refocused his infuriated glare down at Max, grabbed him by the front of his hoodie, and slammed him into the wall. Lillie shook her head to snap out of her daze._

_“Stop! Don’t hurt him!” She got up and approached the two, but was pushed back down by her father’s other arm without effort._

_Max held onto his own defiant gaze (though he had now regretted speaking out) as his father began to choke him with his much larger hand, enough to make him cough and gag but not entirely kill. Max’s legs kicked out from underneath as he struggled and attempted to sputter words, but could only gasp as his face purpled._

_Everything that could have possibly gone wrong so far had gone wrong. Through tears, Lillie scrambled up and grabbed her dad’s phone right out of his pocket, who was too occupied to notice._

_“If you don’t let him go right now, I’ll call the police! I-I mean it this time!” She screamed for attention._

_Their father paused mid-strangulation for a moment, still shaking in anger, then abruptly dropped Max. The boy fell to his knees, coughing and sputtering as he tried to regain his breath. Lillie went to run and comfort Max when their father simply snatched the phone out of her hand and shoved her back away from them._

_“Pack your shit.” He firmly demanded toward Max._

_“Don’t make him leave!” Lillie begged._

_“Oh, he’s not the only one leaving!” The mother piped up. She had already gone and put Max’s clothes into a plastic shopping bag. “After we rid of the hellion, you’re going to cooperate or else!” She seathed through tears. She then adjusted her composure to be more intimidating and approached her youngest child, who had finally stood back up after catching his breath._

_“You’re going back to camp!” Their mother grabbed Max’s wrist, who immediately fought back. Of course, he was no match for the adult as he was dragged to the door._

_“No! Fuck that place! Don’t make me go again!” He wriggled and protested, “Summer JUST started!”_

_She opened the front and continued forcing Max to the car as he watched his sister continue to get scalded by their father, but couldn’t make out what was being said._

_His mom practically threw Max and his belongings into the back seat and slammed the door, getting in the front herself and starting the car._

_“Wait!” Lillie ran out the front of the house and practically fell onto the car, desperately opening the back seat, hugging Max and sobbing into his sweatshirt._

_She was roughly tugged away by none other than their father almost immediately after, who slammed the car door back shut and dragged her away. Max solemnly watched as the car he was in sped off._

_Moving his head down as it pained him to be torn away from his sibling, he noticed something that had been placed next to him._

_His sister had left Mr. Honeynuts for him._

 

Max clenched his arm against his chest, waking himself up and remembering his current situation.

There was no Mr. Honeynuts to comfort him while he was trying to sleep. All he had was the pillow he laid on that was now flattened to the floor. He was alone in the pitch darkness and complete silence. He could hear his ears ringing as he tried to drown it out with his own thoughts.

It had seemed like he was there for an eternity. All he could do to keep himself occupied was daze in and out of sleep and pace around the room. His stomach growled from hunger pains, and his tongue felt like sandpaper from lack of hydration. He blindly felt around on the floor for his “pillow”, then dragged it into the far corner and sat on it, leaning against the wall and curling up in a fetal position. He wasn’t tired since he had already been sleeping so much out of boredom, but his body was aching and lacking energy.

Harmful thoughts surged through his mind.

He worried about what his parents did to Lilllie once he was taken away and left her to deal with them alone.

He worried about how his friends at camp must feel about his disappearance without any warning or context.

He worried if he actually mattered to any of them at all.

Max gasped and sat up when he felt a beam of light shine through the window and illuminate the room.

Daniel must've been back now that the laboratory was turned on. His heart began to palpitate as his starving stomach ached and nerves gave him nausea.

He stood up in a defensive position then jumped back when he saw those terrifying blue eyes and grin pop into view on the other side of the glass tiny window. The door was pushed open, and there was his captor, dressed in all white as usual. Max wasn’t sure if he’d rather continue rotting in the dark alone than see and deal with this fucker or not.

“Someone looks like a deer in headlights!” Daniel laughed, “Seems appropriate, since you’ll being ascending soon, anyways.”

Yeah. Now he’s sure he’d rather rot in the dark alone.

Daniel approached the boy as Max scowled and held his back against the wall.

“Don’t get near me.” Max demanded.

Daniel chuckled and bent down at eye-level to him.

“I don’t recall agreeing to take orders from you?” Daniel cocked his head as it cracked.

“I don’t recall agreeing to be a lab rat, yet here I am!” Max defended himself.

Daniel laughed again, scooping Max up with both hands from under his armpits. He stood up and lifted him, then began carrying him out of the dark room into the brighter laboratory as Max kicked his legs out and tried pulling himself out of the grasp.

“Last time I checked, lab rats don’t get a say in what happens to them.” Daniel retorted, placing Max on the cold metal counter that was in the center of the room, then put a hand on Max’s cheek, making him flinch and continue to glare into his eyes. “Learn your place.”

Daniel then grabbed Max by the shoulders and roughly pushed him onto his back, pinning him in a laying down position. Max’s chest grew heavier as his fear increased and panic kicked in. He tried to squirm as the psycho held him down, leaning on his small frame and holding him down with one arm while he strapped his wrists to the table with the leather binds, keeping his arms pinned in place to his sides. Once Daniel was done, he got off of him and stared down at the bound victim.

“Comfortable?” Daniel teased as Max struggled while hopelessly testing the strong binds and jerking his wrists back and forth.

“I don’t think I could ever be comfortable around a freak like you.” Max spat. The obnoxiously bright overhead light shining directly onto him was not helping.

Daniel ignored Max’s comment as he went around to the head of the table out of his view and began preparing something.

“The fuck are you planning on doing to me, anyways?” Max asked, “And where the hell did you even go the whole time you left me here?”

Pale long hands reached over Max’s head from behind him and began to unbutton the front of his shirt.

“Hey, dude, the fuck?!”

Daniel unbuttoned the scrubs all the way down and opened them up, exposing his bare chest to the cold steril air. The hands retreated, only to come back as he began sticking one-by-one six small wires with tiny white circular stickers at each end to his chest in seemingly specific placements. Max could then hear semi-steady yet a little upbeat beeping. He tried sitting up to look to the side and see what he was being connected to, but Daniel immediately pushed him on his forehead back down.

“Is this some sort of cardio monitor?” Max asked.

“Precisely.” Daniel responded, “Smart boy.”

Daniel walked around to the front end of the platform Max was on by his feet, looming over him as Max sat up slightly the best he could, unable to back away due to his bound wrists. Daniel leaned forward, hovering above him with his sadistic grin as he withdrew his dagger from his front pocket.

The heart rate monitor began to pick up speed.

Daniel brought the knife close to Max’s eye as he grabbed his curly hair from the front and slammed his head into the table to hold him still.

“Fuck you!” Max yelled, still attempting to wriggle free.

Pushing the sharp metal against Max’s upper left cheek, Daniel applied pressure and dragged it down, earning a drawn-out scream in pain from the boy. As the stinging sensation took over his face, Max could feel his warm blood trickle down the side of his cheek as he faintly heard the monitor beeping even faster. Daniel snickered as he pulled his knife away off of the child’s face, admiring the large downward cut he had created as the crimson liquid leaked out. He was still hovering uncomfortably close to Max’s body.

Max shuddered as he observed the psycho becoming so mesmerized with his suffering. Daniel looked Max in the eyes, who was fighting so hard to keep in his tears, though some had formed just from the sheer pain in his face.

“Why are you doing this?!” Max pleaded.

Daniel grinned and leaned forward, gripping Max’s hair to hold his head still as he stuck out his tongue, starting contact at the boy’s gory neck and working his way up his jaw and all over the wound, tasting the blood and lapping up the iron flavor with his tongue. The heart monitor sounded like it couldn’t beep any faster. The warm wet tongue against his skin nonconsensually was a sensation Max never had nor wanted to have.

The boy shuddered in udder discomfort.

“That was disgusting!” Max tried to shake his head out of the grip, then closed his eyes as a tear finally escaped one of his eyes. “P-please get off me… Please stop…”

Daniel tightened his grip on Max’s head, causing a whimper.

"Usually children's blood is pure, but you taste full of toxins."

Max opened his cyan eyes, though hesitant, and looked at the pale freak. He had brought his dagger back out, waving the shiny bloody toy in front of both of their eyes. He then placed it down towards the boy’s neck flesh and started to apply pressure.

“Goodbye, Max.” Daniel cooed.

Max squeezed his eyes tightly shut as his body trembled in fear, preparing for his demise.

The heart rate monitor was intense, sounding almost as if it shouldn’t even be capable of beating that fast.

Though Max was still embracing the thought of his death, he paused his shaking when he noticed Daniel wasn’t doing anything. Reluctantly, Max opened one of his eyes and looked up at Daniel, who was standing still with an almost disappointed look on his face.

“Aren’t you just gonna do it?!” Max asked through clenched teeth as more tears escaped his eyes. He just wanted his suffering to end.

“This was a test.” Daniel stated, backing off and standing up, retreating his weapon. Max’s jaw dropped as his eyes went from frightened to angry.

“I wanted to see if I could scare you into fainting so I could begin experimenting with your subconscious mind into communicating with Xeemug…”

Max rolled his eyes. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”

“But since you’re such a stubborn boy, I guess we’ll have to do this the unnatural way.” Daniel announced. Max raised an eyebrow as the thin man reached over to retrieve a syringe and extracted some sort of clear liquid.

“What are you planning on putting in body?!” Max asked desperately.

“Doesn’t matter.” Daniel grinned, holding Max’s tiny hand and feeling for a vein as the circulation from the binds helped him locate one. “You won’t even remember what happened unless it works.”

He began to push the liquid in fast, a burning sensation filling up through Max’s veins.

“Ow! Why does it… hurt…” Max started to say as his mind began to feel dizzy. His whole body felt high as his bloodstream stung in pain. The strange feeling was nearly masked by the numbness both his mind and body were being enveloped in.

“Goodnight, Max.” He heard as his blurred vision finally went black.


	9. Sibling Quarrel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max learns some things about his life in quite a few bizarre ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Yay another chapter is out already! Not only that, but there's an illustration I did, as well.
> 
> Also, this gets pretty intense angst-wise and could be triggering so please proceed with caution.
> 
> Also also I created this entire chapter while high, including the drawing. Don't do drugs, but cannabis does its wonders.

Light. Pure light.

If his body could feel any physical senses or damage, it would’ve burned his retinas.

_Aw, shit. Am I dead?_

_I knew it would be eternal nothingness, but I didn’t want to have to be conscious, either. Now I have to think about stuff._

He glanced down to see if his own body was visible. His hands were there, and legs, and those stupid hospital scrubs. So yeah, he was definitely present. Just… in space?

Heaven?

Hell?

His vision suddenly began to readjust as another presence seemed to be coming closer.

Someone tall. Definitely taller than him, at least. With long brownish red hair, and a white gown facing the opposite direction.

Max didn’t feel disturbed by the person, just startled. Who could this possibly be? What kind of bullshit is Daniel forcing into his mind?

_Oh!_

_Oh._

“Aren’t you, like, the Americanized version of Jesus or something? They made you white to be more appealing to the fatass white Americans, right? Wait, damn it, I’m technically American, too, aren’t I...”

The person’s face turned to the side with a slightly insulted look. Max blushed in embarrassment, not only was he completely wrong, but it was a familiar face.

Lillie’s darker skin and light cyan eyes faced him. She was slightly taller with a feminine-shaped curvy body and a long plain snow flowing dress. Her hair was much longer and more tame, and her eyes looked brighter with lashes instead of dead and stressed like they usually did.

“Now, Max, that’s not very nice to say about your fellow Americans. Not all of them who believe in religion are bad, you know?” She bent down, “Sometimes, people need something to hold on to to bring them comfort, like I did with you…”

Max ignored the first part and focused on what made him more concerned. “Used to? What, you don’t anymore?”

Her demeanor seemed even more surprised by his reaction. “No, that’s, I mean- Of course, thinking of you will bring me comfort…”

“No! You’re not saying our fucking parents separated us, are you?!” Max’s eyes started shaking to control forming tears. “Are we not going to see each other again?”

Lillie’s face was much more saddened, but also looked slightly betrayed.

“They didn’t even tell you…” A frustrated tear slipped past one of her eyes as she brought up a fist and clenched it.

Max felt anger toward his parents, (absolute resentment, in fact), but empathy with how his sister felt, as well.

“Whoa, wait a second, how the fuck are you visiting me through some sort of dream? This doesn’t make sense!” Max shouted as he realized. Lillie was speechless. She looked like she desperately wanted to explain something to him but couldn’t.

“You aren’t the real Lillie, are you… I bet Daniel made you to get to my head! That’s why you’re sticking up for religion! That’s why you’re dressed all white!” Max pointed his finger accusingly as he backed away.

“Listen to yourself, Max! That doesn’t really make sense, either! You and I both know that isn’t possible, no matter how smart you think whoever ‘Daniel’ is!”

Max paused, then started to laugh a confused laugh, “To be honest, I don’t think Daniel has any sense of intelligence left after whatever his cult did to whack out his brain!”

Lillie laughed a nervous laugh, as well. “Maybe you’re… lucid dreaming? That’s scientifically possible, right?”

“I guess? I mean, not sure how we’re sharing it, but that means...”

“It’s kind of cool, and odd, considering I’m not-”

“I have an idea!” Max abruptly spat out, too excited to even let Lillie finish her thought, “Let’s try to think of things and see if they pop up! People can control what goes on in their lucid dreams or some shit, right?!”

“O-oh!” Lillie’s heartbroken face lightened up at Max’s idea and childlike excitement. She hadn’t seen it in a while, and wanted to savor it.

“Okay! Let’s both imagine-”

“Mr. Honeynuts!” They both said at the same time, as two almost identical-looking stuffed bears showed up.

“Okay, let’s… Never tell anyone we just did that. Ever.” Max stated immediately as he reddened and looked to the side.

“Uh-huh, yeah, not sure I could even if I wanted to…” Lillie admitted, then they both looked at the bears they had created. The only difference was that Lillie imagined Mr. Honeynuts missing his right eye, when Max imagined him missing his left.

“Hm, I guess we imagine things differently? You do realize it’s his left eye that’s missing, right?” Max asked.

Lillie’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I guess when I had to think of a damaged eye, I thought of the right one…” She rubbed her right eye, reminding Max that’s where she had last been hit by their father.

“Oh, damn, sorry I pointed it out...” Max snuffed. He was mad at himself for reminding her, but didn’t want to admit that aloud. He could feel something was off and didn’t want to let his guard down.

Max coughed at Lillie’s silence. “Well, maaaybe we should try and imagine a memory we’ve both had... You know, so I can make sure it’s actually you before I start to discuss personal shit with you.”

“You _still_ don’t believe it’s me, Max?!” Lillie yelled, “Hah, you’ve always thought I was a liar, didn’t you? I guess even when I’m gone forever, there’s nothing I can do to change your image of me!”

“Why are _you_ getting so angry?! I don’t have a right to be skeptical, still? We are SHARING a DREAM! This doesn’t seem weird to you?!”

“That’s because only one of us is dreaming!”

“So, you admit this is fake?!”

“No, I’m real!”

“You’re just confusing me! Why can’t you just make up your damn mind about who you are already?!” Max shouted up toward her.

Lillie’s mouth opened like she wanted to speak, but was in too much shock. Her eyes welled up with tears once more.

“Oh, please. I didn’t mean it like that.” Max corrected himself.

“I thought of all people, you understood…” She choked out softly, holding her sleeve over her mouth and nose to dab up the tears.

“I said that because I’m mad, I know you’ve always been a girl on the inside, it was obvious how you acted, but... “ Max started to justify himself, “I just don’t have anyone I trust anymore. Not family, at least.”

“You weren’t even supposed to be born, you know!” Lillie growled after Max’s hurtful comment, “Mom and dad only wanted one kid!”

“Yeah, well, I never asked to be made, did I?!” Max shouted through angry tears.

Lillie paused her pathetic own sobbing, sighing deeply with conflicted eyes staring down.

“Oh, jeez,” Lillie looked at her hysterical mess of a brother. “I did.”

Max’s expression froze.

“So does that mean… am I just… a stress reliever to you?” Max asked, “Is that the only reason I’m here?!”

“No! Of course not!” Lillie whined, “I wanted a younger sibling, they told me they’d give me one if I did whatever they said… Why do you think I always had to care about grades and babysitting you? Why did you think they were so mean to you?! I didn’t mean for them to turn you into an essential hostage… I just wanted someone close to my age to love.” She looked down at the bears they had created. “They said if I ever tried to be out of their image, they’d simply… Give you up for adoption…”

“And that’s what they did, didn’t they?” Max spoke up, “They gave me up for adoption? Is that the big secret everyone has been hiding from me?”

Lillie bit her lip. “Well, that’s not all…” She hiccuped. “We really needed to have this talk, I’m glad we were able to, but-”

Her voice immediately drowned out as the bright nothingness consumed Max’s psyche and brought him back to reality.

He opened his eyes, squinting them immediately after being exposed to the obnoxious burning light as his body and mind became conscious again. He was sitting on a wheelchair with his wrists tied down to each armrest, though his head was lolling as his muscles ached, barely giving him energy to control himself and sit up. Slight drool escaped the corner of his lip while his headache worsened, the throbbing against his inner skull clouding his mind. Slowly lifting his neck up and groaning, he looked in front of him, and though it was blurry at first, sitting there was none other than the blond psychopath himself, observing him like the creep he is.

“You’re finally awake!” He sang, reaching over with a cloth and wiping the drool from the boy’s chin, “So, what did you see? Did you see Xeemug?”

Max was too sickly and out of it to even muster up a verbal response. He tried to speak, but all he could do was let his jaw open. This made Daniel laugh. “I guess I’ll have to ask you later!” He stood up and walked behind the wheelchair as Max felt it begin to move and head toward one of the doors within the lab.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” Daniel asked as he took out his keycard and opened the door closest to the hall, then rolled Max’s chair into the opening. There was a fridge in the corner of the room, cabinets, and even a round table in the center that Max was wheeled over to. The dazed out child could only bring his eyes to follow the blond man as he seemed to be preparing some food. He then had to close them to try and dull out the intensity of his headache.

The boy jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, reopening his vision and seeing a plate of white mush in front of him.

He didn’t know what the fuck kind of experimental garbage Daniel was serious about trying to make him eat, but he was at least in a sensible enough state of mind to know it wasn’t something he should be consuming.

Daniel grabbed Max’s hair from the back of his head and lifted him up to sit straight as his other arm reached around with a plastic fork impaling some “food”.

Max used all of the energy he could to close his mouth as tight as he could while his body was becoming more responsive to his commands and mind was attempting to come back.

“Open.” Daniel instructed, squeezing Max’s hair roots tighter.

Max’s eyes were feeling less dazed as he was finally capable of mustering up a glare to present to the condescending lunatic. Daniel’s eyes glared back, though his creepy signature smile remained.

“I can make your jaw drop if I really have to!” The pale man sang.

“Don’t… threaten… me-” Max attempted to murmur, only to have the food shoved into his mouth mid-sentence. As soon as the fork was pulled out, Daniel’s hand covered Max’s nose and mouth, holding his head still and not letting him breathe.

“Swallow.” Daniel demanded, tilting Max’s head back.

His body and mind were too weak to fight back, so he let the strange food slide down his throat. It didn’t even have a flavor. Either that, or Max hadn’t gotten all of his senses back, yet. Daniel removed the hand that was covering Max’s face who instantly gagged and sputtered on his own saliva when he was met with fresh air.

“Good boy.” He praised, “I can’t have you dying on me, but we also can’t be feeding you products that will give you enough energy to fight back.” He scooped up more food.

Max shriveled up his nose in disgust. Not only at the mush, but he didn’t want to be force-fed. This was completely humiliating and degrading.

“Where’s… Lillie…” Max managed to mumble, trying to distract Daniel from what he was currently going to do.

“Lillie? Your sister?” Daniel asked, looking excited.

“I saw… her…” Max admitted, “Is she... here?”

Daniel paused, then started to cackle and turn red.

“This is incredible! You didn’t see Xeemug, but you saw the dead! We’re getting closer!” He celebrated.

“No, it was… just a dream. Lillie’s not… dead…”

“You still don’t even know?!” Daniel continued laughing, then looked Max in the eyes, “Your sister killed herself!”


	10. The Perjurer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If only the deception would stop.
> 
> True friends don't give up on each other despite this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for not updating for over a month D: I lost inspiration for a while, a lot of personal shit went down in my life, I even went skydiving with strangers.  
> Life comes at you fast, man.  
> Not only that, but the notes and ideas I've been jotting down for the course of a few months to make sure I keep up were all deleted just because I updated my phone, literally no other reason, with no possible way of getting them back.  
> But when I see the comments you guys leave, it encourages me to not give up my story.  
> I'm doing this for you guys, your kind words are what motivated me to keep writing. Thank you, I love you all so much ;u; enjoy and hopefully I'll update again within a week or two.

“You… fucking… liar…” Max spat. His head was still dazed, and the effort to put hatred into his articulation under the woozy circumstances caused his mouth to drip more saliva.

“Tell me, Max...” Daniel started sweetly, cupping the boy’s chin up and moving his thumb onto his bottom lip to wipe the excess drool while forcing the weary cyan eyes to make contact with his cold blue daggers, “If I was lying, how would I know so much other correct information about you?”

“I… what…are you...”

“Oh, you really are slow!” The blond chuckled, “Then again, I suppose I can’t blame you for still being so out of it, being as I injected you with such a heavy amount of anesthesia.”

“T-that’s... all… it was?” Max stuttered, confused how a drug like that not only burned painfully when it was injected, but also put him through a seemingly spiritual experience.

“To be fair, it was nearly the lethal amount,” Daniel pulled his thumb away from Max’s face, the trail of spit still connecting, “But enough distractions. You need to eat more.”

“B-but… Lillie… she w-wouldn’t actually…”

“Shh…” The creepy blond shoved a forkful of food into Max’s mouth with one hand while still holding his chin still with the other, forcing him to close his jaw as he removed the silverware slowly.

Max clenched his eyes tightly, a tear slipping out and rolling down his cheek.

“C’mon. Swallow.” Daniel gripped the boy’s jaw tighter, tilting his head back once more. Max was trying to shake his head back and forth out of his grip to the best of his minimal child-strength ability, but of course there was no getting out of it. His wrists were still tied down on each armrest of the wheelchair, and he felt nauseous at the thought of his sister actually having killed herself. It just didn’t seem possible. Something that fucked up couldn’t possibly happen in his life, he already thought he was practically at rock bottom. What is there to live for if this is true?

“Just swallow the food, Max. I told you I can’t have you dying.” Daniel’s tone was becoming more impatient, “You don’t want to make me angry.”

Max was the one who was more than angry. There were plenty of other mixed emotions as well, but when it came to Daniel, fury was the only one he was capable of feeling. How dare the psycho speak of his sister’s supposed death so carefree?

Despite how he felt towards the disgusting cultist freak, Max knew as of this moment he wasn’t in a position to fight back, at least not yet.

Giving in, Max let the lump of food slide down his throat. Daniel smiled.

“Good boy. See, it’s not so hard to listen to your superiors!” He finally released Max’s face as the boy was now the one staring at him with daggers, filled with absolute hatred at that. 

“You fucking wish that was the case.” Max was finally able to form a clear sentence.

Daniel looked surprised for a moment, then grinned again.

“Oh, right. You’re tied up and under my complete control. But please, tell me how you’re the superior one.” The malicious man mocked.

“Well, for one, I’m not brainwashed and psychotic!” Max defended himself, “Not to mention you only have control because I’m just a kid!”

“Exactly. You’re just a kid.” Daniel agreed.

Max growled, “That’s not what I meant! If I was older, stronger, and knew you were kidnapping kids and lying to them about their families dying, I’d beat the living shit out of you!”

The Aryan chuckled, “Yes, but you aren’t. You’re just a pathetic, delusion child who's all bark and no bite. But despite being frustratingly determined, you’re so adorable, and they’re going to love you.”

Max grimaced at his captor’s words. “What the fuck are you talking about? Are you going to sacrifice me or some bullshit?”

“What, no! Xeemug wouldn’t want someone toxic like you, anyways. You’re going to make me money while I keep you here in the meantime. I’ve got bigger plans for my religion than just killing a little bhenchod like you.”

That was the last straw.

“You’re the fucking worst!” Max shouted as he began getting riled up, “You tell me my sister kills herself like it’s nothing, then call me that?! Go fuck yourself, you fucking lying pig! I’ll kill you!” He twisted his both wrists back and forth in an attempt to wriggle himself free from the binds.

“Calm down, Max. Calm down.” Daniel cupped both of his hands on Max’s cheeks, trying to hold him still as the boy tried to thrash and throw a tantrum.

“Fuck you! Let me go!”

“Don’t make me hurt you again.” The man in white emphasized his words in a threatening tone as he held onto his face tighter.

Max was nearly hyperventilating, fighting so hard to hold back his tears, but the pressure Daniel put on his face over his previously inflicted wound wasn’t helping. Even though he was still in an overall infuriated panic, he decided to take a different approach when communicating with the lunatic to try and find out more.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Please just tell me what happened to Lillie.”

 

 

Two scrawny arms slammed down assertively onto the wooden picnic table.

“Ow! Splinter!” Neil shook his hand and hissed in pain.

He looked at his comrades awkwardly, plucked out the splinter, then spread his noodle arms back out onto the surface as if it were a podium.

“Listen up! Max is missing, and we can’t have a comedy trio with only two people!” He said sternly, putting an arm around Nikki and pulling her in.

“Right!” She agreed enthusiastically.

“I could help you be a trio again!” Space Kid piped in.

“Nope, Max says you’re expendable. Never gonna happen.” Neil explained to Space Kid nonshalontly.

“Oh…” Space Kid replied, slightly let down, “Okay, I guess I’ll go look on my own, then!” He jumped off the picnic bench and wandered away.

“Uh…” Neil shook his head, “As I was saying, I gathered everyone here because I figured it’s better  _ not _ to put all of our cards into one basket, so  _ some _ help is better than… no help?” He questioned himself as he observed the other campers.

Nurf was giving Harrison a wedgie as the little magician fought back by throwing endless streamers out of his hat at the bully.

Nerris was hitting Nurf on the back of his head with her cardboard sword trying to be a hero, to no effect.

“Nng…” Neil cringed. He looked around more to who was left.

Dolph was designing an outfit for Preston (who was getting openly excited) with crayons so he could do improv as a “detective”, though the outfit looked uncomfortably similar to a German soldier in the early 1940’s.

Ered was taking a selfie with the platypus.

Neil sighed.

“I stand corrected. C’mon, Nikki, they don’t even care.” He stood and grabbed Nikki’s arm to lead her away.

“Aww. Bye, Ered!” Nikki waved happily as she was dragged away backwards.

“Umm, excuse me, nerd kid?” Ered scoffed.

Neil stopped in mid tracks toward the woods and turned his head.

“Didn’t the little rebel, like,  _ want _ to run away?” She brought up, “It’s not like we don’t care. He probably just chose to leave or whatever.” Ered rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Tell yourself whatever you want to make yourself sleep better at night,  _ Ered _ ,” Neil replied coldly, “But I know our friend would  _ never  _ leave without telling us.”

He continued to march off without looking back, dragging Nikki who was still gawking at her blonde crush, not affected in the slightest by her words.

The two continued wandering until they were at the tents.

“Man, Ered’s so smart,” Nikki beamed to Neil, “She might be right, Max  _ was _ pretty desperate to leave camp. At least, when we first got here, he was.”

Neil growled, “Yes, but every attempt to escape since we met, he’s included  _ us _ , hasn’t he?”

“Well, do we really know that?” Nikki questioned.

Neil stopped at the entrance of his and Max’s tent. 

“I guess… we don’t…” He fretted, unzipping the door and allowing Nikki to enter first.

“It’s okay, Neil! Maybe he left a note!” She walked over and started tearing apart bedsheets in search for one.

“NIKKI! That’s  _ my  _ bed!” He stopped her, pulling her off.

“Oh, oopsies! Sorry!” She chimed as he put her down and headed toward the other bed.

Neil stopped her once more, grabbing her shoulder for a moment.

“And let’s  _ not _ destroy our room, please?” Neil asked of her.

“How can we be sure if we’re not thorough?” She questioned.

“We can be thorough without being reckless!” He replied, releasing her shoulder as they both headed to Max’s side of the tent.

“But wouldn’t Max want us to be reckless?” Nikki suggested as she opened and peaked into a drawer. 

“No, you know he’s a hypocrite. Destruction of property is all fun and games until its your own stuff that’s being fucked with.”

“Oh, Neil.  _ All  _ of us are a hypocrite in our own special ways!” Nikki rummaged through Max’s clothing.

“I suppose you have a point.” Neil lifted Max’s pillow, revealing underneath his stuffed bear.

“Pfft.” He snickered.

“What? What did you find?” Nikki wandered over, “Ha ha! He’s such a dork.” She laughed as she looked at the revealed plush.

“Yeah, which is one of the many reasons he’s our friend.” Neil agreed.

Behind them, the tent unzipped catching them off guard as Neil dropped the pillow and scrambled back, pulling Nikki with him.

“M-Mr. Campbell?” Neil tilted his head as the tall graying blue-eyed man stopped in his tracks at the entrance.

“Oh! Hey, uh, Neil and girl Neil!” Mr. Campbell totally normally and non-suspiciously greeted, “What are you two doing in here?”

“This is… my tent…” Neil replied bluntly, “But I could ask you the same question. What are  _ you _ doing in here?”

“This is... my camp!” Mr. Campbell justified.

“Hm… touch é.” Neil responded, but remained cautious, tapping his chin and eyeing the man suspiciously.

“Weeeell, I heard little Marty went missing, so I came to check in his tent or… something.” Mr. Campbell trailed off, “So why don’t you two run along and let the adults handle these things?”

Nikki gasped, “You killed Max and replaced him with a guy named Marty, and now  _ he’s _ missing, too?!” She growled defensively.

“What? Murder? What are you on about? I never killed anyone! Coverup? What coverup?” Mr. Campbell began to panic.

“Holy shit, Nikki, you’re right!” Neil exclaimed, “Well, not about the second part. But you know something about Max, don’t you?!” He pointed accusingly to the tall man.

“Oh, science kid, I always knew you were the funny one!” Cameron condescendingly patted the boy’s brown curls.

“Um, we’re  _ all _ funny, thank you very much!” Nikki sassed as she stepped forward, pushing Campbell’s hand off of Neil’s head.

“Nikki! That’s not the point!” Neil spoke up.

“Right! The point is you should run along with your other ‘funny’ friends and do something distracting. Go on now!” Mr. Campbell grabbed both kids by the backs of their yellow shirts and guided them out.

“Hey! Let go! We’ll just come right back, you… snake… person… You snerson!” Nikki protested.

“No, Nikki, c’mon, let’s just go do something distracting like Mr. Campbell says!” Neil blurted.

Nikki gave him a puzzled look, and Neil winked at her. She realized, then grinned and winked back.

“Yes! That’s right! I always knew you were the smart one!” Cameron complimented as he shoved the two outside.

“I thought you said I was the funny one?” Neil asked.

“Ha ha, yup!” Mr. Campbell vaguely acknowledged with a fake grin, then zipped the tent back shut, preventing them from going back inside.

“Alright, Nikki, let’s go play in some dirt over by the lake!” Neil toned loudly enough so Campbell would hear as he grabbed her wrist and guided her to a neighboring tent for them to hide behind. 

“So what now?” Nikki whispered, “Are we gonna ambush him? Fill the tent with water? Light it on fire with him inside?!”

“No, we’re gonna sit and wait…” Neil slyly crouched down.

“Aw, poo, that’s no fun!” Nikki harrumphed as she plopped criss-cross next to him and folded her arms.

“I don’t know what Campbell’s looking for, but if we can see what or where he goes after, I can almost guarantee we’ll get some answers and closer to finding Max!” Neil explained with confidence.

“Were we even getting close at all to finding him in the first place?” Nikki pointed out.

“Hush! I think he’s coming back out already!” Neil quieted her as the two laid in suspense.

_ Zzzzzip. _

“Yes, I’ve got it. And you’re sure this’ll do the trick?” Cameron Campbell spoke into his watch as he stepped outside.

_ “Trust me,” _ An all-too-familiar voice spoke from the watch,  _ “It’s all we need to break him.” _

“I don’t want to break him. That’s wasn’t the plan,  _ Daniel _ .”

A sinister chuckle from the tiny speaker made Neil’s neck hair stand up and Nikki’s tail tuck between her legs.

_ “Oh, Mr. Campbell. I meant so metaphorically.” _

“Yes, I was aware of that. He won’t be valuable if he’s already been psychologically broken. You haven’t been doing those weird experiments I specifically told you NOT to do, have you?”

Nikki and Neil exchanged looks of discomfort and fear.

_ “Nothing too severe, I promise.” _

Campbell groaned. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll meet you shortly.”

_ “Can’t wait.” _

He tapped the watch to hang up, then began grumbling to himself angrily as he strayed away from the tent and shoved something into his vest.

“Shit, shit, now’s our chance!” Neil whispered in a panic to Nikki, “We gotta follow where he’s going!”

“I’m on it!” Nikki stood as she was about to run after Campbell. Neil stood in front of her, gesturing with his arms for her to back up.

“No, no, we can’t let him see us! We have to keep a distance, this could be seriously dangerous.”

“But… you just said we gotta follow him!” She whined.

“If we’re careless we’ll get caught, and I’m not losing another friend!”

Nikki’s face showed determination. “We haven’t lost him yet!” She was now the one to take hold of Neil’s wrist. “C’mon!”


	11. It Could Only Get Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max revisits someone and finds out a bit more of the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This particular chapter is EXTREMELY triggering and emotionally fucked up. Please, please proceed with caution.

“Well, if you don’t believe me that she killed herself, why don’t you ask her directly?” Daniel suggested, tilting his head in unison with his words.

Max paused.

“You mean, let you do that experiment that nearly fucking killed me? Hard pass.” He scoffed, though he was still conflicted about the thought, and if it’d be worth the risk.

Daniel laughed, “We’ve been over this countless times, Max. You don’t get a say in the matter.”

The creep grabbed hold of the wheelchair handles from behind, pulling Max away from the plate and rolling him back into the main lab.

“H-hold on, wait, Daniel, you don’t have to do this-”

“Of course I don’t have to, but I want to, and I will!” The older man walked around and bent down in front of the terrified child to undo the straps that bound him to the wheelchair. As the left strap was taken off, it was clear they had been bound too tight, for Max’s skin around his wrist was raw and red. Once both were undone, the freaked-out boy attempted at getting some distance between them by pushing off from Daniel in hopes of wheeling away backwards. Daniel reflexively grabbed him by his sensitive wrists, earning a whimper in pain from Max as he was jerked into the air out of his seat.

“Why are you trying to fight now?” Daniel cracked his neck, “Afraid of the truth?”

Max’s frightened eyes turned into a glare as he tisked.

“Hardly.” He mumbled, averting his eye contact away toward the ground.

“Good, good. You almost seemed nervous for a moment there.” Daniel grinned, clearly mocking the boy.

Max wouldn’t give in. He didn’t want to show weakness, he already established that as a personal goal, yet somehow it slipped his mind.

_ Don’t let this fucker’s mind games get to you. _ He thought to himself as he was laid onto the counter and strapped down once more.

“Tell Xeemug I said hello if you see him.” Daniel smiled, holding up the sharp needle as it glistened in front of Max’s defiant glare.

_ Don’t. Let. Him. Win. _

Inserting the needle into his hand, the burning sensation flooded Max’s veins once more as he grimaced, fighting the urge to scream in near agony before everything once again faded to pure darkness.

  
  


Max stood in the familiar bright atmosphere. He was back, back in the void.

But where was she?

He began walking forward, though it felt like he was treading on air.

“Lillie?” He called.

No response.

“Shit, don’t tell me this isn’t working… Lillie!?”

Picking up his pace though he had no idea where he was heading (or even trying to go, for that matter), he bellowed her name over and over.

“Lillie, where the hell are you?!”

A familiar feeling on his chest made his heart skip a beat for a brief moment, making him pause in his tracks.

“Max?!”

He whirled around to the direction of his name being called, and there she was, taller in her white gown with longer hair and lively eyes.

“You… came back?” Her lips quivered as she forced herself to hold back from crying, “How?! I thought I’d never see you again!” 

“It’s this fuckin’ cult-leader Daniel, he’s keeping me in some laboratory and… it’s a long story, I’m just glad to see you aga-” Max was cut off mid-sentence when Lillie dove down and embraced him in a tight hug.

“It’s so lonely here! It’s like I’m stuck in some horrible, horrible purgatory where all I can do is relive horrible, horrible memories!” She was nearly weeping as she squeezed him tighter, “But I feel like this is  _ you _ , not just something from the past! I don’t know how, I don’t even care, I’m just so happy to see you!”

“I- a-am-” Max tried to speak, but her embrace was so strong his body felt like it was being crushed, disabling him from speaking properly, let alone being able to hug her back with his arms being pinned within hers. Even his face was beginning to purple a bit.

“What are you trying to say?”

“C-can’t… breathe…”

“Oh!” She let him go and backed off slightly, embarrassed at her over-enthusiasm, “S-sorry! I couldn’t help myself. You’re just so cute and huggable and I missed you and-”

Max took one deep breath and panted while clinging to his chest by his scrubs, trying to regain his composure as his sister kept prattling on. It was hard to focus on what she had to say, she was being so overwhelming. He’d never seen her so happy before, she must have been through some shit prior to seeing him again.

Oh.

Right.

“-and then I keep seeing this weird kid occasionally that’s dressed like he’s from the 80’s-”

“*Ahem*,” Max coughed, interrupting Lillie’s rambling, “Not that I don’t want to hear what you have to say that’s positive, but… We need to talk about some more serious things, don’t we?”

Lillie paused, changing from excited to looking troubled.

“Hah, what...what do you mean?” Lillie asked as clasped her hands together innocently and shifted her gaze away from his.

“Remember last time I was here, and you said about our parents, ‘They didn’t even tell you’?” Max brought up.

Lillie’s face tensed, “I thought you weren’t even listening…”

“Well?!” Max prodded.

“Well what?!” She snapped, “Last time we hardly got to see each other, and that might happen again! Let’s just chill here and do something fun while we can! Remember we imagined Mr. Honeynuts? With you around, we can do it again!”

The stuffed bear popped up in front of Max as soon as Lillie imagined it for him. Max stared at the bear, then snatched it from the air and tossed it to the side.

“I don’t care about that! Stop trying to distract me, why can’t you just be fucking honest with me about what happened to you?!” His voice began to rise, “Do you not trust me?!”

“No, no, it’s not like that!” Lillie tried to calm him down, “I’ve just been stuck in this limbo, and if it’s really you visiting through some lab within a short period of time, then I want our time together to be pleasant, not arguing again like we are now!”

“Don’t you get it?! This is exactly why we need to have this talk! What if I never see you again after this? How am I supposed to help you escape this place if I don’t even know what actually happened to you?!” Max responded to her, making her gasp in realization, then look back down at him.

“You’re right.” She admitted, “I shouldn’t be trying to distract us from what happened.” She bent down and picked up the bear, handing it back to Max while smiling, “Part of growing up is having conversations you don’t want to have, and you’re the one telling your older sister to do it. When did you get so mature?”

“It’s the trauma.” Max said, gladly taking the bear back. Lillie’s face dropped for a moment at his response.

“Give yourself more credit. You know you’re a bright kid.”

“Irrelevant...” Max reddened from slight embarrassment, “C’mon, just tell me what happened already.”

She sighed, “Okay, but you’re going to want to sit down for this.” The tall girl put her arm around Max’s back as they both sat. Max brought his knees up while clinging Mr. Honeynuts to his chest in preparation for the news he dreaded receiving, as Lillie just comforted him while her legs criss-crossed. 

“I’ll be honest, I have no idea where I should start.” Lillie fibbed.

“Hm… What about the last time we saw each other, as soon as mom drove away with me?”

Lillie winced at the very thought after Max said that, almost as if it physically pained her to hear.

“Okay. Just, look forward and we can watch what happened, like watching TV.”

“Uh. What?” Max looked up and tilted his head at her in confusion, but she quickly grabbed the top of his head by his curls and forced him to look forward again. 

In front of them was a detailed projection of the inside of their home taking place not too long ago, with both their father and Lillie inside.

“Oh, shit, you weren’t kidding about reliving memories.”

“Shh…” Lillie hushed so they could both pay attention to the memory being played out before them.

_ “Don’t bother trying to talk to him!” Their father shouted in past Lillie’s teary-eyed face. _

_ “It’s not his fault!” She choked back, cowering toward the wall, “I already said it, I chose to dress this way!” _

_ “We had a deal, Lucas! You could have a little sibling so long as you do as your mother and I say!” He grabbed her by the necklace and pulled her up aggressively, “I don’t give a fuck if he influenced you to dress like a girl or not, the fact is you disobeyed us and broke your promise!” _

_ He began dragging her recklessly across the carpet by her neck jewelry as she gagged and struggled in vain. He then tossed her harshly onto the floor of her’s and Max’s bedroom. She looked up at him in fear as her father loomed over her. _

_ “I can’t believe my own son would do something so stupid. If Max is the one helping bring you out of your ‘shell’, then he’s going up for adoption!” _

_ “No!” Lillie moved so she was on her knees in a begging position, “You can’t! He needs me, and I need him! Please, please don’t!” _

_ A hard boot was kicked into her gut, knocking her down completely. _

_ “Ow!” She cried as tears continued spilling down her face. _

_ “You’re grounded. The next time I open this door, you’d better be dressed as yourself or you’re heading to a conversion camp. Are we clear, Lucas?” _

_ Without even giving Lillie a chance to verbally respond, he slammed the door shut, leaving her alone in misery. _

_ She stayed on the floor, cowering and shaking in a fetal position as she wept and wept into her hands, her eyeliner getting onto her clothes and smearing down her face. _

_ Her entire life had fallen apart within a matter of minutes, all because she wanted to finally dress how she felt comfortable. _

_ Now Max, her closest family and best friend, was going to be alone. _

_ Her parents who once loved “Lucas” despised her. _

_ She also now can confirm she can never come out as transgender or she’ll be sent to a torturous conversion therapy camp. _

_ What is there to live for anymore? _

_ Hiding her identity, knowing her parents are awful people, knowing her little brother will be put through even more trauma and she’s helpless to stop it. _

_ Slowly standing up while wiping her tear soaked face with her bare arm, she walked over toward the closet, opened it, and pulled out an old karate belt. _

_ Sniffling through her tears and clinging to the belt, she glanced back at Max’s empty bed one last time. _

_ “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you, Max…” _

_ She knotted a noose, then climbed on a crate within the closet and tied the other end to the pole meant to hang their clothes.  _

_ Putting her head through the loop and around her neck while hiccuping in her messy tears, her legs trembled as she was hesitant to step off. _

_ After a conflicting few moments, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped off the crate supporting her underneath. _

The memory projecting in front of Max and Lillie disappeared before it got too graphic.

Lillie looked down to see how Max was holding up. The boy was gripping Mr. Honeynuts tightly, his jaw slightly agape, yet his eyes were still unreadable.

“Max?”

“So it was true.” A single tear slipped down his cheek, “You actually did kill yourself.” He glanced up at her with a look of hurt and betrayal.

“I’m sorry Max, don’t cry!” She went to hug him, but he pushed her back and stood up.

“What about your friends? What about  _ me _ ?” Max questioned her, “Maybe you can just tell me how little I mattered to you for you to just give up on me like that!”

“No, don’t take it like that…” Lillie tried justifying her cause, “I was so overwhelmed by the massive changes in our lives, I felt it was the only escape… Everything changes one way or another eventually. I guess I just… gave up on myself.”

The two for the first time were both quiet.

That is, except for the soft weeping Max was trying to contain.

…

“I’m sorry, Max.” Lillie sincerely apologized, “It’s my fault you’re here, and it’s my fault I’m gone. Or at least, trapped in this hell.”

Max wiped his tears with his stuffed bear, then hugged it again.

“Wait a second,” He paused, turning to her, “Is the last thing you remember stepping into that noose?”

“Un...unfortunately, yes.” She admitted, “What’s your point?”

“Well, I guess that part isn’t important.”

“It’s  _ knot _ ?” Lillie asked, making a pun about her own death to lighten the mood.

“Of course it is, but I mean… I’m in like a mini-coma when I come and visit you here,” Max explained, “So what if dad found you, and  _ you’re _ in a coma, too, which is why you’re not moving on to your real death or whatever?”

“I…” Lillie thought for a moment, “That’s… genius, Max! I told you that you’re smart, that explains so much!” 

“I could be wrong, but I could be right.”

“I really hope you’re right, little bro!” Lillie ruffled his hair. Max winced and stepped back, and she took note of his actions.

“You have a right to be mad at me, still,” The girl said, “And for all we know, I could very well be dead. But if I’m gone, please,” She laughed, “Don’t forget me.”

Max grunted, but didn’t verbally respond. His tears still managed to slip down his cheeks more.

Giving in, he practically fell onto her as he hugged her legs.

She patted his head and smiled, bending down slightly and reciprocating the embrace.

“I love you, okay? Even when I’m dead. Never forget that.”

 

Max awoke on the cold table to the sound of faint beeping. He moved his head forward, (somehow not as groggy as last time), and saw he had been connected to the heart-rate monitor while unconcious.

“Seems you had quite the emotional journey this time!”

Max gasped as he looked up and saw Daniel hovering over him.

“That’s none of your damn business.” Max put bluntly.

“Oh, contraire!” Daniel smiled, “You were even crying while passed out, it was pretty funny!”

Max shot him a death glare.

“I do have a little something for you, though. Let’s take you out of this.”

Daniel pulled off the monitor attachments and neatly buttoned Max’s scrubs closed. He then unstrapped his wrists, allowing the shaken boy to sit up. He picked him up by the back of his shirt and carried him over to his room, dropping him on the floor.

“Stay put. I’ll be back.” He shut the door, but at least left the lights on so Max wasn’t alone in the dark again.

The poor child didn’t want to believe it. His sister tried killing herself, he had even talked to her directly, yet the answer  _ still _ was not clear on whether or not she was really dead.

The door began to open, and a hand gripping onto a small stuffed bear slid into sight.

“Mr. Honeynuts!” Max gasped as he stood up and darted to grab the plush toy his possibly dead sister had given him. Finally, something that can comfort him in this hellhole of a facility.

Right before he could grasp it, Daniel lifted it up just out of his reach as he opened the door further, revealing a grin on his face that was somehow more sinister than usual.

“Oh, great, what’s the fucking catch?” Max groaned in annoyance.

“There is no catch, Max,” The cultist flicked a match with his other hand, “There’s nothing you can do to stop this from happening.”

Max’s eyes widened as he could barely comprehend the heartless action that he was about to witness. Without hesitation, Daniel set fire to the bear.

“NO!!!” Max cried, trying to jump up and grab his stuffed animal even though it was ablaze. As the fabric smoked and sizzled, the cotton burned to nothingness rather quickly.

The coldness in Daniel’s cheeky stare as the flames destroyed the last of Max’s sister’s possessions right before his eyes now showed the boy this man would never be a man of mercy. The psycho dropped the plush as the fire spread, then stomped on it with his white boots, putting out the fire and ruining what little was left of the bear. Max could only drop to his knees and gape in shock at the destruction of his beloved childhood memento.

“Now,” Daniel cracked his neck with a twisted smile, “Don’t ever think about fighting back again.”


	12. Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikki and Neil get a visitor, and as for Max... He gets a reality check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty freaking brutal and gruesome, so please proceed with caution. Thanks, loves!

“ _Neil…_ ”

A gentle whisper from the dark grasped the attention of the blue-eyed boy in the midst of the night within his tent.

“M...Max?” Neil sat up in the dark, rubbing his eyes in confusion as he woke. He could have sworn he had just heard a young male’s voice, and though it didn’t sound much like his missing friend’s, he wanted to be hopeful.

“ _Neil… You have to get up…_ ”

“Max, is that you?!” He pulled his blanket off and swung his legs over the side of his cot as he grabbed ahold of the flashlight he kept next to his bedside, clicking it on and shining it frantically around the small enclosed area.

Nobody was there.

“H...hello?” The confused boy stood, uncomfortable now that he felt like he was hearing things. Maybe the voice was coming from outside of the tent? It was just strange how close the sound had felt, he could certainly feel a presence. It was a sensation he could not explain, and things that were unexplainable always freaked out the poor stubborn scientist.

“Max, if this is some sort of elaborate prank, it isn’t f-funny…” Neil hesitantly whispered under his breath, approaching the exit wearily and slowly unzipping the tent flap. He poked his head and flashlight out, scanning the perimeter cautiously.

A chill crawled up Neil’s spine that resonated within his frail bones and made his legs tremble as he backed up slightly into the safety of his shelter, though still had his eyes and light forward to remain careful of whoever was there. The flashlight suddenly began to flicker slightly at first, then became more rapid almost as if it were a strobe light.

“Shit, shit! Don’t tell me the batteries are dying already!”

His shakey palms were sweating, making the unsteady grip even less stable as he could practically hear the sound of his own heartbeat pulsating from anxiety.

As the damned flashlight kept flickering faster, it abruptly stopped, leaving the confused child to stand in the confined area in utter darkness and fear.

A sudden gust of wind swept through his body coming from outside, covering his skin in goosebumps.

Appearing as if from thin air, a dark silhouette blocked the doorway.

“GAH!” Neil shrieked, stumbling backward and falling on his ass as the stranger loomed unidentifiable, with the only outer illumination being from the moonlight behind them.

The lanky kid aimed his flashlight, clicking furiously to see who was there, but to no avail. It was busted.

The figure approached him as the terrified boy was left with no other choice but to use self-defense as he chucked his useless flashlight into the dark toward the anonymous person. To his dismay, the object hurled right through the ghostly being, now leaving him defenseless and even more confused. Neil cowered, covering his face and huddling down.

“W-who are you? What do you want with me?!”

“ _Neil…_

You don’t remember me?”

The voice was much clearer now.

“J...Jasper?” Neil removed his hands from his atop his eyes and glanced upward, relieved but still slightly disturbed.

“You scared the shit out of me! What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?!”

“It’s about Max…” Jasper replied.

Neil gasped, now more alert than ever.

“Well, not just him…” The visitor continued, “You, and all of Camp Campbell are in grave danger…”

“But where is Max? Do you know his whereabouts?!” Neil stood, balling his fists in excitement yet concern.

“I…” Jasper hesitated, “I do, but-”

“Fuck, why didn’t you come to me sooner?!” He went to grab Jasper’s shoulders in an attempt to shake him when emphasizing his enthusiasm, but phased through him and fell to the dirt. “The fuck?! Wh-what just happened?!” Neil scrambled backwards, patting on his own body with his hands to see what was wrong with him. “Are you a hologram or something?!” He questioned in an accusatory manner, having a hard time comprehending what he had just been through… literally.

“Neil, _please_ ,” Jasper begged, “I know this is kind of a sudden and freaky situation, but I need you to keep an open mind if you want to help Max and the camp…”

“I… I…” Neil tried to come up with something to retort, “W-wait, why are you coming to me? A-and can you please explain what the hell is going on?!”

“Yes, if you can calm down for a minute, I’ll explain everything I know. That’s kind of why I’m here in the first place.” Jasper responded, though his words didn’t exactly have the most tranquil effect.

Neil hyperventilated, letting his anxiety shakes out before turning them into controlled deep breaths. He was still nervous about receiving this explanation out of the blue, and from someone so unexpected, but calming his nerves was the best course of action to take beforehand. Jasper seemed to be understanding of this.

“Hey, buddy, it’s okay,” He consoled the frantic living boy, “Let’s see if we can get Nikki up, and I can tell you both together. Would that make you feel better?” Jasper suggested.

Neil thought for a moment, then smiled slightly.

“Y-yeah, but let’s not wake her up how you woke me up. That was a little freaky, dude.”

“Heh heh, yeah, sorry about that,” Jasper apologized, “It’s not that easy to get the attention of the living without a physical form, especially if I have to wake them up…”

Neil gave him another frightened look after that comment, but then went back to focusing on the mission to get details on where Max is and what he can do to help. Who knew Jasper could be so useful?

As the two exited the tent and made their way over to Nikki’s, Neil glanced skyward. Strange indigo clouds had begun to form slowly into a circular formation under the moonlight.

 _A… tornado?_ He pondered, though the rest of the current weather seemed fine. These recent weather patterns around Camp Campbell have been quite hard for Neil to figure out. They didn’t make sense, at least not enough for them to have been made naturally.

A faint low growl could be heard within Nikki’s tent as they approached.

“Whoa, stay back, Home Skillet,” Jasper put his arm in front of Neil’s face to stop him in his tracks, “It sounds like there’s some sort of creature in there!”

“No, that’s just Nikki,” Neil explained, “C’mon out, Nik, it’s just me and Jasper.”

Baker-Miller pink eyes cautiously peaked out before she emerged from her den, joining her two friends outside.

“Oh, hey guys! What are we up to on this random, creepy night?” She questioned, down for pretty much any sort of adventure to cope with missing one of her best friends.

“Keep it on the DL, my duderino,” Jasper said in a more hushed tone, “I don’t want to cause panic, let’s go somewhere no one will hear us.”

“Okay!” Nikki chimed without question.

“This way…” Jasper led them off to a trail in the woods as the two followed behind.

“This is kinda sketchy, don’t you think?” Neil whispered to Nikki, who then looked up at him without a care.

“I dunno, Neil, something about Jasper feels kinda genuine.” She replied.

“Nikki, he’s literally a hologram!” Neil yell-whispered, “I went to touch his shoulder earlier and fell right through him!”

“Psh, yeah, right.” Nikki scoffed, then eyed Jasper suspiciously.

“Nikki… don’t you dare.” Neil warned, already knowing too well what his little green-haired friend had in mind.

“DOGPILE!” She shouted, springing forward as she pounced toward Jasper. To her surprise, she phased right through, landing in front of him on the dirt.

“Whoa, are you alright there, chica?” Jasper asked Nikki, “I know it’s kinda dark out and hard to see, I just don’t want us to get caught.”

Nikki rolled over and looked up at Jasper, then back to Neil, who was giving her a “told-you-so” look from behind.

“W...wait, are you like, a ghost or something?!” Nikki’s eyes glistened in excitement.

“What? Nikki, no, that’s ridiculous,” Neil shut down her thought, “Ghosts aren’t real.”

“Actually…” Jasper cowered from Neil slightly, “I guess I should really do some explaining now, huh?”

Neil helped Nikki stand back up as they both stood together facing Jasper, Neil seemingly more frightened as Nikki was intrigued.

“First off,” Jasper started, “I just wanna say that I’m telling you two this information because I trust you. You’re friends of Max’s and you’re both smart in different ways. And also, we’ve met before, so I figured at this point coming to you two would be the best decision.”

“Uh… okay?” Neil awkwardly accepted.

“So you’re a ghost?!” Nikki bluntly asked.

Jasper sighed, “In a way, yes. We all know Cameron Campbell is a shady guy. One day at camp when I was trying to find things to expose him for the fraud he is, I came across a secret lab.”

“The one on Spooky Island?” Neil asked as lightning flashed on cue.

“No, but I guess I do have a niche for accidentally finding secret labs,” Jasper laughed, “Anyways, after stumbling across it and climbing down, Campbell and some scientists did some pretty majorly harsh tests on me. My body is still down there, being kept alive and preserved, but not enough to keep my spirit inside of it, apparently. So here I am, cursed to stay at Camp Campbell until someone finally kills my body and I can move on.” He explained casually, as if this were a normal situation from his perspective.

Nikki and Neil exchanged looks of concern, empathy, confusion, and fear.

“That...that is...rough, Jasper,” Neil spoke up first, “I am so sorry.”

“No sweat, dawg. I’ve been here a long time, it’s nothing I’m not used to.” Jasper looked off to the side, trying not to get emotional for everyone else’s sake, “That’s not as important, though. Because they’re up to even worse things now, that are going to kill all of you if we don’t take action!”

“But I thought you said you know where Max is?” Neil brought up, “Can you lead us to him first?”

“Sure can,” Jasper said, “But not yet. I don’t want you two getting caught, either. That won’t help anyone.”

“You know where Max is, and you won’t tell us, you fiend?!” Nikki barked toward Jasper.

“Please,” Jasper tried calming her down, “Don’t be like that. Things aren’t looking good for any of you, and my ghostly embodiment can’t stay out here for too long. I had to conjure energy for several days ever since Max came to the lab in order to come to you guys, so you gotta hear me out.”

“Max is in that twisted laboratory that your body is being preserved in?!” Neil cried like a worried mom.

“Yes, homeslice, but hear me out!” Jasper assertively shouted, finally getting the two to shut up, “Campbell has made deals with these foreign scientists for years, and uses this camp as a coverup. They’ve been doing weather experiments here, as well. Why else do you think it rains literal cats and dogs? When we say ‘Spooky Island’,” Lightning flashed once more, “ _That_ happens… And the latest experiments with the dark storm clouds have capabilities of killing all of you when the time comes to rid of the evidence from all of those years of illegal activity, and can be labeled as a freak accident because it can be passed off as ‘nature’!”

Neil’s eyes widened and Nikki whimpered.

“That explains a lot about the abnormal weather…” Neil added.

“No wonder the air has made me uncomfortable, it isn’t _real_ nature!” Nikki cried.

“But wait, why did Campbell take Max?” Neil brought up, wanting everything to make sense.

“That’s the thing,” Jasper explained, “It wasn’t Campbell who took Max. There was a cult leader that took initiative and reactivated the laboratory. When Max found it, he kept him down there, and discovered he has an ability to speak with the dead subconsciously. So when the camp is destroyed, they’re planning on taking Max with them for a profit to sell for even more twisted experiments, while passing him off as dead so nobody reports him as missing… along with everyone else here once you actually _are_ all killed.”

Both Neil and Nikki turned pale in terror after that comment. Everything was adding up.

“Ha ha, what’s wrong? You two look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Jasper attempted at lightening the mood with his terrible joke.

“We gotta get out of here!” Neil panicked.

“We have to save Max first! I don’t want any of us to die!” Nikki cried as she shook Neil by his sweater collar, “Tell us where he is! Lead us there, now!” She demanded, pointing at Jasper.

“Whoa, whoa, don’t be hasty! You need a plan first, or you’ll probably be subjected to similar torment Max and I have been through, or even worse!” Jasper defended.

Nikki growled at first, then sighed as Neil put his hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s be smart about this, Nik. We can’t save anyone if we don’t save ourselves.”

“That is some damn truth right there.” Jasper agreed, “I’ll lead you to where the lab is before my form gets dragged back there, but promise me you’ll have a plan before doing anything crazy.”

Neil and Nikki looked at one another, then back to Jasper.

“Hell yeah.”

  


Max stood within his dark empty cell, facing a wall as he repeatedly threw his head back and smacked his forehead onto the hard surface to intentionally inflict pain upon himself. His skull was throbbing, and warm blood had even started to trickle from his hair down his face, but he didn’t care. Any sort of physical distraction was better than the emotional pain he had endured the few days he had been trapped in this dungeon. He wasn’t even positive if it had been longer or shorter than that. There was no way to keep track of time. There were just long periods in jet black isolation, then there was the torture. He never knew exactly what Daniel would have in store for him, but nobody had ever fucked with his emotional state of mind this badly before, not even his abusive parents.

He had only been fed three times since his imprisonment, always in the same degrading way. It was disgusting flavorless mush that made him constipated, and sips of water that was probably poisoned to some degree. He didn’t care if it was at this point. He wanted to die. This was no way to live, and there was no way anybody would find him in the middle of nowhere. He was doomed for a life of torment. Killing himself was the fastest way out of this situation.

Moving his head back far, he smashed it back into the concrete as hard as he could. Sure, it hurt like a bitch. But it was better than dealing with his own thoughts. Losing his footing as he stepped backwards, he fell down. He was beginning to feel light-headed as he heard the faint dripping sound of his blood creeping onto the floor. His woozy mind felt it was slipping out of consciousness when his room light had suddenly turned on. He felt his heart drop in fear, knowing exactly what that meant.

The heavy door creaked open, and his captor stood in view, wide grin on his face.

“I could see on the monitor you’ve been inflicting pain on yourself?” Daniel’s neck cracked. Max had forgotten there was a camera in his room. Still, he didn’t care. He didn’t even bother looking up as he slouched on the floor, crimson liquid still leaking from his scalp.

Daniel cracked his neck once more, “Don’t have anything to say?” He mocked.

Still, Max remained quiet.

“That’s alright. If it’s physical pain you wanted, you should’ve just asked!” Daniel entered the room, approaching the boy, “You won’t be quiet for much longer once we begin today’s experiment.”

He stood right in front of Max, looming over him in a threatening manner in order to strike fear in his victim. Max did not budge or show emotion, much to Daniel’s displeasure. How was he supposed to fulfill his sadistic tendencies if his victim didn’t fear him?

Bending down to the floor so he could see Max closer, he noticed the kid was slightly shaking in fear, clearly trying to contain showing it. This made the cultist smirk.

_Now the kid’s really putting up a challenge._

“Hm… You miss home, don’t you?” Daniel asked, not expecting a verbal response back as of this moment.

Max lowered his head at this comment.

“But, what was it your mother used to do back at home? Oh, right!”

Daniel pulled back his hand and aggressively smacked Max across the face, whiplash knocking the boy over as he cried out in shock and pain, curling up and hissing at the stinging sensation the man had left on his cheek.

Max tried to weakly crawl away, knowing it was futile but still wanting to get some distance.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Daniel tsked, grabbing him by his ankle and harshly jerking him back as he pulled back his other arm and gave him a second hard smack across his other cheek. Tears welled up in Max’s cyan eyes from both the stinging pain and harsh reminder that this was indeed how his mother treated him at home.

“Hm… and what was it your father would do?” Daniel’s head cocked.

Now, Max looked up at him with true terror in his eyes. Daniel grinned even wider. Abruptly grabbing Max firmly by the throat, he lifted him into the air with him as he stood up. Max kicked out his legs and struggled in vain, tiny hands grasping at the hand clinging to his throat as he weakly tried to pry Daniel’s grip off. Daniel slammed Max into the wall, clutching his neck even tighter. The pain of suffocation and aggressive man-handling gave the child flashbacks as his mind raced and body weakly fought back.

Then Max realized.

Why was he struggling?

Why was he even bothering to fight back?

Shouldn’t he just accept his fate now and get it over with?

He let his arms drop and legs dangle, though he had to fight against his instinctive urges to wriggle free. He didn’t want to die in the hands of a psychopath, but he had accepted this would be his fate inevitably.

Daniel grew frustrated at Max giving up so soon. The boy’s reactions were what gave the sick cultist pleasure when tormenting him, and it just wasn’t fun when he already gave in.

“You little shit, don’t play dead with me!” He shouted into Max’s face as he held him up.

Max kept his eyes closed, embracing the suffocating pain.

Hoping so badly Daniel would put him out of his misery.

That was the only hope he had left.

Daniel grunted in aggravation, giving Max’s neck one last tight squeeze, causing him to open his mouth and gag before tossing him onto the hard floor.

Max wheezed, coughing and regaining his breath as he laid on the floor, otherwise not moving.

The cultist cracked his neck to the side, observing him.

“I’m going to make you scream louder than you ever have before, mark my words.” Daniel promised, exiting his room and slamming the door behind him.

Those words lingered in Max’s terrified mind.

What was he thinking, not reciprocating when Daniel wanted him to?

If he had just given him the initial reactions he had wanted, he wouldn’t have dug himself in an even deeper hole of torment.

Why did he have to be such a stubborn little shit?

But the biggest question of all…

What did he do wrong to deserve all of this?

He could feel his heartbeat speed up again in terror as the door opened up once more. Gently turning his head and opening an eye, Daniel stood there, holding up shiny white long-nose pliers. He grinned and clicked them together in his hand, taunting the boy as he gazed up at him with eyes pleading for mercy.

The man approached him as he scrambled back up against the wall, unintentionally corning himself. Bending down on his knees, he grabbed hold of Max’s face, holding his jaw and cheeks still.

He then held up the pliers as they glistened above the tearful cyan eyes under the fluorescent lights.

“Please…” Max finally begged through a grainy voice as a last resort, “Why won’t you just kill me?”

Daniel paused for a moment, taken aback at the child’s choice of words. He wasn’t begging for his life anymore.

He was begging him to _end it._

His shocked expression then turn into chuckles, that grew into twisted, spine-chilling laughter.

“Oh, how sad!” Daniel scoffed, still giggling his inhuman emotions, “I can’t torment you if you’re not here!” He explained, running his thumb across Max’s cheek to wipe away a tear. He leaned forward, looking Max straight in the eyes.

“I won’t kill you because I’m having fun.”

Max hiccupped as more tears poured down his cheeks from his eyes and broken expression.

Mustering up another dark chuckle once more, Daniel forced Max’s mouth open as he tightened his grip on his face.

Pliers in the other hand, he clamped onto one of Max’s top front teeth in between the two metal prongs, gripping it tightly. Once he had a firm grasp, he began to slowly twist the bone with just the right amount of force to loosen it from his skull.

Max screamed as the metallic flavored crimson fluid emerging from his gums began gushing into his mouth. He gargled and choked out as the blood flooded his throat the more Daniel twisted at his tooth. It splattered out, staining both of their white clothes and dripping down his face. Tugging and yanking at the hard bone in between the clutches of the sharp metal, the intense sheer pain burned Max’s mouth with every movement. Then, with one final hard rip and a scream in agony, the tooth was dislodged from his mouth.

Max’s face was drenched in tears and blood as Daniel held red stained pliers and tooth in front of the poor child’s eyes, taunting him once more by showing him what he had done was reality. He moaned out in pain as he cried hysterically. Daniel finally let go of the boy’s face, dropping him to the ground as his stood up and sadistically admired the broken child covered in blood, clearly crying from being such a tormented soul.

Max could only bare to stay up on his hands and knees as his head faced the ground, blood and drool dripping onto the floor off his lips. He panted, sweat and tears so rapid he could hardly open his eyes. The prolonging pain lingered in his mouth, he had wished so badly he could just end it all.

But this was yet another cruel reminder that no matter how terrible things could get, there will never be an escape.

Tapping his foot in front of the gory mess of a child in front of him, Daniel hummed as he looked at his watch.

“Oh! It seems the little green haired girl and tall Jewish boy have been awfully close around the area!”

Even though he was in excruciating pain, Max managed to pause his panting and sobbing.

“Maybe they’d like to visit you?” Daniel asked with a cruel grin as Max gazed upward, realizing now that it was, in fact, possible for his situation to get even worse.

**Author's Note:**

> You may have many questions. No worries, they will be answered throughout the story...
> 
> Wow every time I emphasize a word I feel like Preston Goodplay
> 
> Also gotta say, as much as I love writing this, in between my busy schedule it’s hard to stay motivated to continue this so please, please give feedback if you want more sooner rather than later. (Not much makes me happy, so when people interact it helps remind me they are actually reading what I’m taking the time to do). Thanks a bunch!


End file.
